The Final Four
by DisneyDame88
Summary: A week after Jack and the Guardians have defeated Pitch, Jack is contemplating why he is the only one to have lost his memories. But the return of Pitch and the evil Pandora throws the world into chaos once more, so North reveals a legend of the Final Four. It is their destiny to seal Pandora's Box once and for all, but who are these four, and where are the keys they need?
1. Chapter 1

**The Final Four**

**Author's Note - This is a Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons Fanfiction. I do not own any of the characters, they belong to Disney, Dreamworks and William Joyce - I have merely used them to create a story of my own! This is the very first story I have written so please have patience.**

**Having never done this before I'm not entirely sure on the best way to lay out the story, and would love some feedback - if you don't leave a review saying if you would like to read more or not, I can't even tell if anyone is reading this! :P**

**The pairings in this story will be Jackunzel and Mericup, and the rating is currently K but will prob go up to M later as I plan for it to involve more peril and romance further into the story.**

******In this chapter you will find references to characters from William Joyce's book the Guardian's of Childhood, but I have changed their backgrounds slightly. Man in Moon will be referred to as MiM or Manny.**

**...**

* * *

**...**

Jack chuckled to himself as he put the finishing touches to the now slippery slope outside the house of a particularly grumpy occupant. How he wished he could hang around to see his face the following morning!

Having spotted the irritable man yelling at some kids earlier for playing in the snow, he thought it was only fitting he get him to 'join in'. As an after thought he added a soft pile of snow for him to land in – he wanted to give the guy a shock but he wasn't going to let him get hurt (even if he was a grouch!)

Leaping up onto a nearby roof, he surveyed the recently-frosted town with satisfaction, enjoying how everywhere he had touched now glittered in the moonlight. Suddenly he spotted a colourful glimmer sneak in a nearby window.

"Looks like someone's lost a tooth" he smiled to himself.

It had only been a week since he had last seen Toothiana and the other Guardians, just after they had defeated Pitch.

A slight frown appeared on Jack's otherwise carefree face. Something about that whole thing just didn't sit right with him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Still, if it had never happened he would never have become a Guardian, be seen for the first time, or found his memories…wait. His memories.

That was it! Jack straightened up as he remembered what he had been wanting to ask the others – why was he the only one to lose his memories? It was probably nothing, but something was telling him that he should try and find out anyway and now was as good a time as any!

He started a run up along the roof preparing for his flight to visit the Tooth Palace, when suddenly he was plunged into darkness. He stumbled slightly as his heart froze for an instant – the last time he had fallen into darkness like this was …Pitch?!

He whirled around holding his staff up defensively but as his heart slowed and his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light he realised that no, it wasn't complete darkness. Look, there were the street lights, he was still on the roof, not in Pitch's cave….then what..? With a gaining sense of dread he looked up at the sky...

The moon was gone.

"Oh that can't be good" Jack murmured to himself. "Change of plans wind – take me to the North Pole".

... ... ...

Jack landed at the entrance to North's Workshop and hurried in past the yeti holding the door open for him. Normally he would have stopped to savour the moment since it was usually the yeti's keeping him out and he hadn't quite got used to the perks of being a Guardian yet, but now was not the time. He burst into the Globe room, to find North pacing up and down, whilst Bunny and Sandy were having a hushed conversation in whispers and sand symbols over in the corner.

"So I'm assuming you guys have seen the moon or lack of it then?" Jack said jokingly to try and break the tension. "Hey, where's –"

"I'm here!" Toothiana bust in through the window. "Sorry, I flew as fast as I could. North what's happening?! Where is MiM?"

Bunny and Sandy stopped their conversation and the group gathered in front of the Globe. From there you would usually be able to see the moon shining in and watching over them all, but no matter how much Jack craned his neck, all he could see was darkness. But wait – he could still see the stars. Except for where the moon usually was, but if it was gone he should be able to see the stars behind it. That meant –

"Manny's not gone. He has been hidden from us." North said sombrely.

"What are you talking about? The Moon's a bit big to be playing hide and seek with don't you think?!" Bunny exclaimed.

"I mean someone is purposely trying to stop Manny from contacting us, or us contacting him. Someone is planning something and that someone doesn't want us getting any help."

Jack raised an eyebrow "And that someone would be….?"

"Pandora"

Toothiana gasped, whilst Bunny and Sandman went still and looked at each other with dread.

"Um, guys? Am I missing something? Who's Pandora? Isn't she just a story?"

"You of all people Jack should know that stories are based in truth, and legends are more than capable of being real." Said North seriously. He sighed and turned to walk over to a wall and the back of the room. "Jack, have you ever heard of legend of Final Four?"

"Er…nope can't say I've heard that one."

"It's a Guardian legend Jack" Tooth explained softly. "One that has been with us since before any of us can remember. MiM gave it to us to keep safe, long before you even existed. The reason no one has brought it up before now is because...because…."

"Because we hoped we would never have to." Bunny finished for her.

Jack looked warily at Sandy who nodded his head gravely. North meanwhile had opened up a secret compartment and from it pulled a dusty piece of parchment. It looked old but still in extremely good condition, and as North laid it out on a table in front of them all, Jack noticed that the writing shimmered silver - just like moonbeams.

North took a deep breath. "This is the legend Jack. Listen well because after this – everything will change."

"Well that's not ominous in the slightest" Jack quipped trying to cover his nerves. North gave him a look and began reading.

...

**"First there are four, then four again.**

**Guardians from Snow, Sand, Cloud and Glen**

**Seasons from Winter, Summer, Autumn and Spring**

**Much joy to children they all shall bring.**

**The original four, when times are stark,**

**Shall cause the first defeat of dark.**

**They shall keep the children safe from blunder –**

**Their memories, dreams, hope and wonder.**

**For the final four, a further task**

**Another duty will be asked.**

**Pandora once again will rise,**

**Unite or face the world's demise.**

**Child and season, through storm and calm**

**Both are theirs to keep from harm.**

**Two by two the moon shall choose;**

**Their former lives they then shall lose.**

**Memories lost, form unseen,**

**Until the rise of the Hollow Queen.**

**Apart until the time is right**

**And then the final four unite."**

...

Silence fell in the room as the occupants tried to take in the meaning of what they've heard. Jack's head was swimming. So many questions! He tried to straighten it all out in his head.

"'The first defeat of dark'…does that mean the Dark Ages?"

"Yes, we've generally taken that part to mean when we four defeated Pitch the first time around in the Dark Ages" Tooth answered.

"Snow would be for North, Sand for, well, no prizes for guessing there, Cloud for Tooth in her Tooth Palace, and Glen for me." Said Bunny. "We're the 'original four'"

"But…there are 5 Guardians now. Aren't there? I am a Guardian aren't I? You're the ones who made me one!" Jack exclaimed. True, he hadn't been so keen on it at first, but he finally had friends, a purpose, and he couldn't bear it if this was taken away from him now.

"Woah, calm down there fella!" Bunny said holding his hands up in a 'surrender' style pose. "Yes you are, but – we think – you are also something more."

Jack paused from having his mini heart attack to think this through. "More?"

North stepped forward and placed both his hands on Jack's shoulders. "Think Jack. The final four are Guardians of both children _and_ seasons. Chosen by the moon, they lose their memories until 'the time is right'. Now who, out of all of us, does that sound like to you?"

Jack looked around to find everyone staring at him. "I'm…a Guardian of seasons?" he said slowly.

"Well technically only one; and you're title is Season. So you're a Guardian of Fun and a Season of Winter." Bunny said nonchalantly.

"And there are more of me - us? Us ….Seasons?"

Sandy nodded excitedly bouncing up and down slightly in the air. Above his head appeared the symbols of a snowflake, flower, sun and autumn leaf.

"Yes Jack, there should be one Season for every period of the year – so four of you in total. But if this is all true, and we're pretty certain it is, then unfortunately this means that something very bad has already happened." Tooth explained sadly.

Jack just looked at her with a questioning eyebrow and a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Does this have something to do with Pandora and the –" he looked at the parchment again "- Hollow Queen?"

"They are same person!" North declared. "Pandora was also known as Hollow Queen, which over time became Halloween. Her box contained all the evil spirits of the world and she released them to create chaos and havoc in the world. You see?"

"We've never told you but when we defeated Pitch the first time, we also managed to subdue Pandora." Bunny continued. "We managed to force Pitch and all the other evil spirits in her box, but it was only with the help of Nightlight that we were able to seal it and send Pandora to sleep."

"Who's Nightlight?"

The other four guardians looked at each other sadly. North sighed.

"Nightlight…was a dear friend. Closest to Manny most of all. Without him – we would never have managed it. He created key to lock the box and seal Pandora in sleep. But – in doing this – he was destroyed."

"The key he created was actually a dagger forged from one of Manny's moonbeams." Tooth continued softly. "He forged it using the fire from lightning, quenched it in tears from the sun and then he – he gave his life by bathing it in the light of his own soul. Only a weapon that strong was enough to seal the box, but even then it couldn't defeat Pandora or Pitch entirely. Once they were subdued we hid the box away in the darkest crevice of a cave under a mountain, and Pandora was laid to sleep in the depths of the ocean, we had hoped, for eternity."

"MiM split the key into four and hid them in case anyone would ever try and open the box. He never told anyone where he put them, not even us" Bunny concluded.

"So if my memories are back…?" Jack queried

"Yes. That means Pandora has awoken. We were worried the instant we discovered Pitch was back, even before we knew about him stealing the dream sand. That's because if he is out of the box, it means the seal is weakening. He was Pandora's right hand man, so it is likely he is the only one powerful enough to escape as the seal has weakened over time, and only then because he would have had her help from outside – but this means that they will both be searching for the keys in order to release the rest of her evil into the world"

"Wait – wait – both? Pitch is still alive?!"

"Goodness yes Jack!" Tooth exclaimed "Surely you didn't think that nightmares were enough to kill him did you? He's the King of Nightmares and Shadows! He may have been weakened for a time, but especially if Pandora is about, it wont be long before he's about trying to cause trouble again."

"And you guys were going to tell me this…when?" Jack said a little exasperated.

"Any day now actually Jack but, forgive us, we wanted to give you time to enjoy being a Guardian before we threw all – this – at you." North said with a sad look in his eyes.

Jack knew North was right. They had only been looking out for him. He guessed he must just not be used to that idea yet – people thinking of him. Caring about him.

He looked around at them all and smiled. "Nothing to forgive, don't worry about it."

North chuckled whilst Sandy and Tooth beamed back at him and Bunny smirked.

"So….what do we do about these other 3 Seasons?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

...

"So…what do we do about these other 3 Seasons?"

The other Guardians looked at each other. Sandy conjured up a pair of binoculars and mimed looking through them then ticking items off a list.

"Hmm. Sandy could be right. Searching through the spirits one by one might be the only way to find them - it should be obviously fairly quickly who has an affinity with a season after all." Bunny conceded.

"How about Shamus McRain the leprechaun?" Tooth volunteered excitedly. "He's always making rainbows and four leaf clovers pop up all over the place – surely he's summer?"

"I dunno, I ran into him a few decades ago when I _accidentally _iced over one of his precious pots of gold. Did you know that spirit skin can still stick to metal when it gets really cold? Anyway, I'm pretty sure if he'd lost his memories he wouldn't have been able to given me as long a lecture as he did about "when he was my age" everyone respected their elders…" Jack smirked.

"As long as it's not the Groundhog." Bunny grouched.

"Well he _could _be Spring, what with announcing if Spring has arrived or not" Jack teased. "Sounds pretty season-y to me!"

"Bah! He's about as likely as Quentin Pidd! And that guy's head is too up in the clouds to be in charge as anything remotely as important as a season!"

"Don't tell me you're still mad about that are you?" said Tooth exasperatedly. "It was an accident!"

"Mad about what?" said Jack looking curiously between them

"Hah! Q. Pidd accidentally stuck Bunny with arrow and made him go goo goo eyed over a certain Groundhog….took whole week to wear off!" North chortled.

"I told you never to mention that again!" Bunny hissed

Tooth giggled but then her face fell into a thoughtful expression.

"Hey, you know who could be Autumn? Hiccup!"

"Oh!"

The other Guardians all looked at each other with a look of enlightenment on their faces – apart from Jack who remained looking clueless and slightly confused.

"Of course! That fits perfectly!" North exclaimed, while Sandy nodded his head enthusiastically.

"His powers would certainly fit…" mused Bunny.

"Hey guys? Who's Hiccup?" Jack questioned.

The others stopped their excited chatter and looked at him.

"Wait – Jack, you've never met Hiccup? Not once?" Tooth enquired.

"Um, no, not that I can remember, and I think I'd remember a name like that!" Jack joked. "Why the surprised faces?"

"Don't you think it's odd you've never met him in your entire life span of being a spirit?" Bunny asked, looking at Jack searchingly. "After all, there aren't an infinite number of us, and with the amount of years we exist we tend to come across each other at least _once_ sooner or later."

"So our paths haven't crossed yet – surely it's not that big a deal?"

"Hmmm. This may be a clue" North said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "Another spirit, yes, you may have missed. But you are always in air, yes? And Hiccup – well he also likes to fly and let's say he is hard to miss!"

North looked down at the legend again, murmuring the words to himself.

"Ah ha! '**Apart until the time is right, then the final four unite' **This is it!You see?"

Jack just looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Er – no?"

"You were unseen Jack. Not just to mortals. But to _each other. _You had to _be apart _until the right time came, then you would be able to see each other and come together to create the final four!"

"So I've just been wandering past these three other spirits my whole life? We've, what – passed through each other?"

"I guess so" Bunny shrugged. "Sounds as plausible as anything else we've come up with so far."

"This makes it easier surely!" Said Tooth excitedly. "We don't need to go and visit each spirit to find out if they are connected with a Season, we simply check with Jack to see if he knows them!"

"Perfect Tooth!" North beamed. "I shall go get list of spirits right now, I know I have it somewhere…" he muttered as he wandered off into a back room.

"You and your lists" Bunny rolled his eyes.

"Woah woah wait. I have to sit here and go through a list of ALL the spirits in existence just to see if there are any I don't recognise?"

"Yep!" Tooth chirped happily whilst Sandy gave him a thumbs up behind her.

"Well that sounds like _loads _of fun" Jack groaned as he slumped down in the nearest chair.

...

* * *

...

**Author's Note – It was harder than I thought trying to think of other spirit names, though I love Quentin Pidd. (A free magic cookie to you if you guessed who that is! :P). And for those of you who don't know, it is an American folklore that when the Groundhog comes out after hibernation if it doesn't see its shadow then Spring will come early, but if it does then it will be scared back into its hole and it will be Winter for 6 more weeks. Took be a while when watching American things before I understood Groundhog references! And you will start meeting the other 3 seasons very soon I promise :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

...

Jack jerked upright in his chair, awoken suddenly from his sleep by Tooth tapping him on the shoulder.

"Ergh.." he peeled a piece of paper off his cheek from where it had stuck there after using it as a pillow. "Sorry Tooth, have you been there long?"

"I just popped by to see how you were doing" she replied with a slight smirk. "Working hard I see?"

"Hey, I've been working as hard a Yeti in here!" Jack grinned right back at her and swung his feet up to rest on the table in front of him. "You see all this?" He gestured at a huge stack of paper on the desk. "I've gone through _every single spirit _in existence in the space of one night – I'd like to see you not fall asleep from boredom!"

"What's all that paper over there?" Tooth pointed over to a stack neatly piled in the corner.

"Oh that. That's the exact same list but arranged by geographical location. And alphabetical by last name. Then reverse alphabetical. Then colour coded." Jack ticked off each one on his fingers. "You know, for a guy who carries around two baddass swords, North has a very mundane obsession with lists."

He stood up and stretched his hands above his head arching his back to get the cricks out. "You know it took more self control than I knew I had not to blow the whole stack over last night just to see the look on his face"

Tooth looked at him conspiringly "What stopped you?"

"The thought that he would make me read through them all and put them back in order on top of the work I've already done" he grimaced.

Tooth laughed chirpily and Jack broke into a guilty grin as he ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

"I have had some luck though" He said, his voice turning more serious. "I've managed to find three names I don't recognise – Bunny was right, I'd come across more spirits in my life time than I thought! Even though I've never really spoken properly to a lot of them, I at least knew who they were and since three is the exact number we're looking for…"

"Then it is probably them! Jack this is wonderful!" Tooth exclaimed rushing over to hug him. "Let's go tell the others" She grasped his hand and tugged him through North's corridors back into the main room.

"Ah Jack! I trust my lists were of use?" North enquiried

Tooth and Jack exchanged a look and a slight smile.

"Yep I've got three names for you." Jack replied, leaning on his staff.

"And they are…?" Bunny said impatiently.

"Hiccup Draconian, Merida Fireheart and Rapunzel Rampion."

...

* * *

...

**Author's Note – Just a quick chapter to move us along to where you can finally meet the other Seasons! Now, a note about the names. All of the spirits (except Toothiana) seem to have full names (Jack Frost, E. Aster Bunnymund, Nicholas St. North, Sanderson ManSnoozie, Pitch Black) so I figured it was only fair to give the newbies a full name too, which fitted their spirit selves. Why they fit, should become obvious later, but to be honest the surnames aren't really going to be mentioned much from here on. It's just there as a bit of background. **

**Rampion btw, is the flower from the original Rapunzel fairytale which her father stole from the witches garden, thereby resulting in him giving her his first born child. I've been told it has also become known as the "Rapunzel flower" so the word "Rampion" has become synonymous with Rapunzel. Therefore her name is Rapunzel Rapunzel (let down your hair….no? just me? Ok then.)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After Jack's announcement the other Guardians took a moment to ponder over the potential Season candidates.

"Hmm yes. Yes they all fit!" North murmured to himself.

"So what now?" Bunny asked.

"We can't call them to us with your Northern Lights" Tooth said to North worriedly. "It's a Guardian-only signal so they won't respond to it."

Sandy looked thoughtful then conjured up the image of the 5 of them, which turned into arrows flying off in different directions.

"You're right Sandy, splitting up to look for them would be best." North agreed. "Tooth, do you think you can spare some of your fairies to look in the world's forests? That's where Merida usually prefers to wander if I recall."

"I'll look for Rapunzel" Bunny said quickly. "She's a sweet sheila – helped me paint my eggs once or twice when I was short on time. There are some flower fields in Germany I know she likes to visit so I'll start there."

Sandman's sand formed an image of a golden leaf with a question mark beside it.

"Yes Sandy, if you could look for Hiccup that would be most helpful. Jack you should go with him." North stated.

"Ok – what about you?" Jack asked.

"I've got some things I need to organise for when you're back. Shall we agree to meet back here once you have found who you are looking for?"

They all agreed and Tooth wasted no time in flying out the nearest window to recruit some help from her fairies. Bunny thumped his foot twice on the floor and disappeared just as quickly down one of his rabbit holes.

Jack and Sandy looked at each other with a smile. "I guess that just leaves us then!" Jack said, excitement building within him. He gave a mock bow, waving one hand out to the side to gesture to the open window. "After you!"

**Hiccup's POV**

It was a gorgeous day for flying. The sun was out with only a few white puffy clouds to obscure his vision of the world below. As he rode on top of Toothless, Hiccup chuckled as he enjoyed the fresh crisp breeze that called out to him, crying out for him to play with it.

"_What do you think bud?"_ he asked Toothless in his mind, hunching down closer in his saddle to create a better slip stream. _"Shall we whip this breeze into a proper wind and have some fun?"_

Tooth gave an affirmative growl as he perked his ears up in anticipation. Hiccup sought within himself and called to the wind. He spoke to it of adventure and excitement, of speed and turning, twisting gales.

As the wind reacted to his encouragement, it rose to the challenge with great success. Soon Hiccup and Toothless were streaking through the sky, rising and falling with the air currents, and riding the wind like a rollercoaster. Hiccup wooped with enjoyment – he would never get enough of this.

"Higher!" he called out and both the wind and Toothless reacted to him. The wind carried them, and Toothless beat his wings tirelessly as they climbed and climbed. When they reached the point that the clouds from before were tiny white dots below them, Hiccup unbuckled himself from his harness and threw himself backwards off his dragon.

"Come on bud, I'll race you!" Hiccup shouted over the roaring wind as he fell towards the ground at an ever-increasing pace.

Toothless performed a well-practised turn in the air and dived after his master and friend. He folded his wings closer to his body to gain speed and catch up to him until they were face to face falling vertically towards the earth below.

Hiccup pulled a face _"Awww I thought I'd taken you by surprise that time! You're definitely getting quicker."_ He spoke into Toothless' mind.

Toothless gave a gummy grin and let out a half growl half gurgle that sounded awfully like a laugh. Spinning to face away from Hiccup he presented his back to him, and in a perfectly executed move Hiccup reached out, aligned his body to swing his legs back round Toothless and re-attached himself to the saddle.

Even though it had taken them a relatively short time to re-attach themselves they had got a lot closer to the ground in a very short space of time. "Woops" Hiccup thought to himself. "I didn't realise we were falling quite so fast! Pull up bud!"

Hiccup shifted his foot to pull on the mechanism that controlled Toothless' tail. This contraption was what enabled Toothless to fly despite missing half his tail that would usually control direction and contribute to flight. The only 'hiccup', he thought ironically, was that it needed him in order to change the positioning of the tail during flight. Otherwise it was useless.

Toothless stretched his wings out to their maximum size to try and create as much drag as he could to slow their descent. Hiccup sat up in his saddle and prepared to call to the wind to help them if need be. They should be fine, but he probably should have paid more attention to the rate they were reaching the ground.

He saw they were heading straight for a cloud and braced himself to get wet. "Oh great, those things are always so soggy" he thought. Though they were now starting to slow they barrelled through it and shot out the other side. "Blergh!" Hiccup spluttered wiping rain drops from his eyes. Suddenly Toothless gave out a startled roar and Hiccup's eyes burst open just in time to catch them shoot past a blur of gold and blue.

"AHHHHH-!" He caught the sound of a startled shout as they went past, missing them by inches.

"What on earth was that?" Hiccup craned round his head to look back as he and Toothless finally pulled up from their descent and levelled out.

**Jack's POV**

"Hey Sandy, how much longer do you think this is gonna take?" Jack asked.

Sandy shrugged in reply. Jack mentally asked the wind to buffet him up slightly so he was flying alongside, but slightly higher than the Sandman. The wind didn't always do what he asked it, but he had a good bond with it so it would usually acquiesce to his requests.

He spun in the air so that he was face down, and dangled over his staff as if it were a flying broom stick. Looking down at Sandman he continued "It's just we've already been flying round for hours and, to be honest, I'm still not exactly sure who or what I'm looking out for. Any clues?"

Sandy paused in his flight to look up at Jack and conjured up a symbol from his sand.

"What? What's that, some kind of lizard? We're looking for a gecko?" Jack raised one eyebrow in confusion.

Sandman suddenly looked over Jacks shoulder at something above him and started waving and pointing his hands frantically.

"Not a gecko? Snake? No wait, it had legs – iguana? Why are we looking for an iguana up here – AHHHHHH!"

Sandman shoved Jack backwards with an extension of his sand just as a HUGE black _something _streaked between them, barely missing them.

Jack was sent spiralling backwards in the air and was just about to call out to the wind for help in stopping when it came to him as if it had already been sent. Cushioning him and stopping his trajectory, he came to a halt and was able to turn and look at the _thing_ that was now coming to land on a large cliff just below them.

"Woah…..is that…a dragon?!" Jack said flabbergasted.

Sandy, who had come over to check he was ok, nodded excitedly and pointed at the dragon below whilst the image of an Autumn leaf appeared above his head.

"Wait – you mean that's him? That's Autumn?! We've found him!" Jack wooped and began his descent to the long sought after Season.

As the two of them landed on the cliff they found the dragon waiting for them, along with a boy who looked roughly Jack's age. Taking in the saddle and harness, Jack assumed he must be the dragon's rider.

He was slightly shorter than Jack, of slim build and with short brown hair that had a permanent windswept look. Though that was hardly surprising if he spent most of his time on a dragon Jack chuckled to himself.

Dark trousers were tucked into fur-topped boots, and his leather harness crossed over the front of his green tunic in an X shape. The bottom of the X was joined to a belt that had two hooks hanging from it – presumably to attach him to the dragon - and in the center of the cross on his chest was a bronze disc that had the design of a maple leaf engraved upon it. But what drew Jack's attention the most were the boy's green eyes – they matched the dragon's exactly, right down to the cat like slit which seemed to widen and narrow with his emotions. At the moment they currently held an apologetic expression, as he stood next to his dragon looking at the two of them a bit sheepishly.

"Good to see you Sandy! Er - sorry about that back there, Toothless got a bit carried away and – ow! Ok maybe I wasn't looking where I was going…"

Jack watched in amusement as the dragon purposefully trod on the boy's foot when he tried to blame him for the near collision. Despite the playful bickering, it was obvious the two of them were very close; you could feel the air of companionship and trust radiating from between the two of them.

Hiccup stopped rubbing his sore foot and looked over at Jack. "I hope my wind got to you ok? I told it to make sure you were alright."

"Yeah, thanks – wait, your wind? I thought it only spoke to me!" Jack said in surprise.

"Oh, you chat to the wind too? I've known it to make friends with the odd spirit and will help them out usually, but so far I'm the only one who appears to have complete control over it. My name's Hiccup by the way. Well, Hiccup Draconian's my full name, but it's a bit of a mouthful. And this unholy offspring of lightning and death is Toothless" He grinned, whilst rubbing a spot under the dragon's chin, causing him to promptly roll over on his back and purr like a kitten. "I don't think we've met….?"

Jack took a few seconds to let the knowledge that his friend the wind had actually had a master out there all along sink in, and then replied "I'm Jack. Jack Frost. Er…Guardian of Fun?" Jack waved his hand once in an awkward gesture, not quite sure how to begin explaining why they were there. Looking sideways at Sandy he murmured under his breath "a little help?"

"Woah, wait, there's another Guardian? That's huge! And for it to be a completely new spirit, that's pretty impressive – wait, does this mean something bad is happening? Is this something to do with the moon being hidden?" Hiccup observed worriedly, quickly putting the information together.

"Well no, I was made Guardian because of another bad thing that happened, but now there is a new bad thing, which is kind of why we're here – and wait I'm not new! I'm over 300 years old!" Jack sputtered indignantly, stumbling over his words.

Sandy gave an exasperated sigh and waved to get their attention. He pointed at the two of them and then made the symbol of an arrow pointing to an N.

"Ah, yes, right" Jack said calming down a bit and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "As Sandy says, North can probably explain it better. We've something really important that we need to talk to you about – do you mind coming back with us to the pole?"

There was a slight pause whilst Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other. As Jack watched, he would have put money on them being able to communicate telepathically – you just got that vibe off them. "Sure" said Hiccup finally, getting onto Toothless' back. Then he turned slightly to Jack and gave him a sly grin "you think you can keep up?"

Jack beamed back before letting out a woop of laughter "You're on!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Rapunzel POV**

Something was wrong, she could feel it. As she wriggled her bare feet in the dirt where she stood, she could hear the plants and flowers calling up to her, crying out a warning.

"What? What is it?" She asked in concern and stepped forward, smoothly shrinking right down to the size of a mouse in one fluid motion. She placed her hand on the stem of a near by daisy and tilted its face towards her. "You're all sounding so mumbled today, what's wrong?"

Rapunzel usually loved visiting the flowers. Either she went round after winter, coaxing them out from their sleep or she chatted to them about the local wildlife whilst touching up their colours with the paints she carried round in her satchel.

She looked down at it, pushing down the ends of her paintbrushes which were sticking out of one corner. A simple brown thing she had had every since she could remember, she had added only one embellishment to its plain exterior. An elegant golden flower adorned the front, the paint she used never fading or cracking. Who knows why she chose it, Rapunzel shrugged to herself, after all, she'd never seen a flower like it in her 300 years of existence, but she just felt like it fitted.

The satchel was currently slung in it's usually position on her left hip, just below the bodice of her purple dress. The pink laces that criss-crossed the front of her corset and the dark purple leaf pattern that meandered it's way down her skirt were the only details on the otherwise plain dress. It was cut to just above the ankle, allowing modesty but also freedom of movement. In truth, her hair was far more cumbersome than any dress in terms of movement.

Rapunzels hair was blonde, and long – 70 feet long to be precise. It glowed ever so slightly meaning that she gave off a shimmer as she moved amongst the flowers. Though she had never yet been seen by any mortal (as much as she would have loved to) sometimes they would catch a small glimmer from the corner of their eye, sparking the rumour of fairies. Flowers of different kinds and unnatural colours wound their way throughout her hair, changing in proportion to her size and reacting to her emotions. Currently they were a shifting from hues of blue and greys as she worried over what the plants were trying to tell her.

"Nothing's been right since the moon vanished last night" She thought to herself fretfully. "I wonder if Bunny and the other Guardians are sorting it out?" She remembered the first time she had met Bunny – originally terrified at his sudden appearance out of a bush she had leaped on top of the nearest dandelion and clung to it for dear life. She had thought him to be some kind of ruffian or thug!

She laughed at herself now - to think she would have thought that of dear Bunnymund! True, he could have a bit of a gruff exterior at times, but in truth he was a real sweetheart and Rapunzel looked on him as she imagined one may see an older brother.

As if her thoughts had summoned him to her, she felt a familiar subtle shaking beneath her feet that announced the appearance of one of his tunnels – and sure enough one opened up a few feet to her left. Her face broke into a wide smile and she transformed back to her normal height in order to greet him – Bunny was so tall now, it gave her a crick in her neck if she tried to talk to him from flower height!

"Ah Zel!" Bunny cried spotting her as he sprang out of the earth. "Am I glad to see you! I've been looking everywhere!"

"What is it Bunny, what's wrong?" she asked, echoing her earlier question to the flowers.

He looked at her with a somber expression on his face. "I need you to come with me back to the Pole."

**Merida's POV**

"Och, it's hot today!" Merida declared squinting up at the sun above her. She burst into a grin "Just how I like it!"

She pushed back the wild mass of fiery red curls from her face, and continued stomping through the shallow river looking for one of her arrows.

"Gah!" she splashed around in frustration. "If one of those wee daft wisps hadn't popped up and scared the life out o' me, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

One of Merida's favourite things to do was to use the bow and arrows that were permanently slung over her back to shoot at random targets that she set for herself. Apples hanging from trees, a far off tree stump – she would challenge herself each time with smaller targets that were further off. This particular time she had been aiming at the branch a particularly annoying crow was sitting on – just to scare it mind you – when one of her wisps had popped up right in front of her, causing her to shoot her arrow off into the nearby stream.

Her wisps were small blue creatures, shaped like a candle flame. Part fire/part smoke; Merida was never sure what they were made from exactly, but they had come to her since the moment she awoke in that forest many, many years ago with the moon shining down on her.

Tricksy devils they were; they liked to play pranks on her and lead her on adventures, but she knew they always had her best interests at heart. They could lead you to your fate, and she would often send them to guide near by mortals who were lost in the woods, or sometimes - if she was feeling generous - guide single people to find each other for a blooming a summer romance. (Though she maintained that was due to the bad influence of , her sometime-shooting buddy, and each time she would quickly snap out of that gooey stuff. Ick.)

She paused to ponder the message her wisp had brought her. "Teeth are coming to find you!" They never gave her a straight answer which was incredibly frustrating. Apparently part of the challenge was to figure it out yourself or you would 'never learn'.

"Argh!" She groaned. "I'm supposed to be in charge of them!" she thought to herself. "When did they suddenly decide to act like my parents?"

A dull pang echoed in her chest. "Well – what I imagine parents to be like anyway." She shook her head to clear the ache she sometimes got when thinking about things like that, when suddenly a glint caught her eye.

"Ah ha! Got you!" She exclaimed triumphantly, plunging he hands into the water to retrieve her arrow. Trudging back up the river bank she looked down at her blue dress. The bottom of it, along with the ends of her dark green cloak were completely soaked. She blew a stray curl out of her face with a puff of impatience and focused. Suddenly, her fiery red curls decided to take their description to a literal level and burst into flames. A tumbling mass of flickering flames now adorned her head, still falling and moving the way hair would, except it would burn you to a crisp if you touched it. Stream began to rise from her clothes as she heated up and soon enough they were bone-dry. When she was satisfied Merida let go of her focus and the flames gently simmered down until they transformed back into her normal head of ginger curls.

Suddenly she caught a flicker of blue out of the corner of her eye. Quick as a flash she fitted the arrow to her bow and wheeled around to point it at her wisp before it could sneak up on her.

"Don't even think about it – Oh!"

Merida suddenly realised it wasn't one of her wisps – it was one of Toothiana's fairies! And it was looking at the arrow pointed at it squeaking in terror.

"Woops! Ah – sorry, sorry!" Merida said lowering her bow quickly but it was too late – the fairy had fainted from shock. She lunged forward to catch it before it could hit the ground and cushioned it in her hands.

"Toothie? Was that you I heard? What's wrong…"

Merida looked up to see Tooth come through the trees and find her holding an unconscious fairy.

"It wasn't my fault I _swear_!" Merida hastily explained. "I did-nee know who it was!"

* * *

**Author's note - so we have finally met all of the Final Four! What do you think so far? How do you think they will react to each other? I hope I am getting the hang of their characters, but let me know if you find anything off. As always, feedback is really appreciated :) And to reply to the Guest review since I don't know your name, yes this will be a Jackunzel and Mericup fanfic. Btw, did anyone else get the reference to Rapunzel and Bunny's first meeting? I took it from Tangled but of course twisted it a bit to fit their spirit scenario.**


	6. Chapter 6

The Yetis at the door dove for cover as Hiccup barrelled in through the (luckily) wide doorway, followed shortly after by Jack.

"Well it's no fair if I can't use a dragon too" Jack quipped, panting to catch his breath. "I can fly fine by myself, but I usually rely on the wind for most of my speed – I think you having both is cheating surely?!"

"Hey I never told the wind to hold back on you" Hiccup teased. "Looks like it was just placing its bets on the winning side!"

"Har har" Jack said sarcastically, finally recovering from his lack of breath and straightening up to give Hiccup a smirk. "Seriously though, that was some impressive flying! I haven't had fun like that in ages!"

"Me neither!" Hiccup said enthusiastically. "Those moves you did on your staff were incredible, and controlling the air currents by affecting the temperature? Genius!"

The two boys were suddenly jolted from their enthusiastic chatter by a simultaneous smack on the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Hey what the –"

They turned to find themselves faced with a less than impressed Sandman, who had clearly just arrived and was now glaring at them in irritation as he tried to catch his breath.

"Ohhh…"

"Woops sorry Sandy, I guess we got carried away and forgot you were following" said Jack sheepishly.

"Er yeah, our bad!" Hiccup said apologetically. Toothless just sat to one side watching it unfold and snickering to himself.

Sandman just gave each of them a look, before sighing and rolling his eyes. He gestured towards them with a "shoo" motion, ushering them further into the workshop towards the Globe room.

As they entered, elves scattered for cover upon catching sight of Toothless, sending cookies and toys flying everywhere. Their jingling bells caught the dragon's attention and he pounced towards one, trapping it gently between his paws. He bent down to give the terrified elf a curious sniff and then grinned in what Hiccup knew was meant to be a friendly manner. Upon catching sight of a row of teeth, the elf however saw it otherwise.

"Toothless – leave the poor thing alone and come over here to meet the others" Hiccup called.

Toothless looked up and gave a disappointed whine, before letting his new friend go. The elf promptly fainted and was ushered off under a table by the other elves when the coast was clear.

After making sure Toothless was behaving himself, Hiccup could finally devote his whole attention to taking in the room and its occupants. Jack had stepped to one side to speak to feathered lady that Hiccup knew to be the Tooth Fairy. He gave her a small smile and a wave. Sandman had gone up to North, supposedly to fill him in on the journey, and over to the right speaking to one of Toothiana's fairies was…..

"Woah. That's a lot of hair." A mass of ginger curls cascaded down the back of a girl who looked roughly his age. She was currently chatting away to a fairy in her hand when she looked up and caught Hiccup's eye. Her eyes were a bright blue, and they gazed at him and Toothless in curiosity and with more than a little surprise.

Jack, who had looked over at Hiccup and the girl upon hearing his comment, came over to join him. Tooth followed and she beckoned for the girl to come over too.

"Hello Hiccup, Toothless." Toothiana said to them in turn. "Jack has just been telling me all about your flying skills" she laughed.

"I'm Toothiana, but please, call me Tooth. I know you've already met North and Sandy over there. Bunny should be here soon with Rapunzel, and this lady here is -"

"I am Merida." The girl announced proudly sticking out her hand toward Jack in a jaunty manner. "Pleased to meet ye!"

Jack looked at her hand for a second then grinned and shook it. "Jack Frost"

"Hiccup" he said a bit nervously as he took her hand next. In truth, something about this girl put him off balance and he found her a little intimidating. It might have been her confident attitude, her piercing eyes, or the firey arrows smoking at her side….

"Ahh! You're on fire!" Hiccup yelped.

"What?" Merida said nonplussed

"On fire! Your quiver is on fire!"

"Och, that! They do that sometimes" she shrugged. "I focus on keeping them oot when I'm in the forest as I don't want to cause too many forest fires, but I relax aboot it once I'm away from the woods. Do'nee worry though, the quiver is fireproof – ye wont catch fire unless I shoot them at ye!" She gave him a mischevious grin.

"Right. Well, fair enough then…" Hiccup said, still nervously eyeing her smoking quiver.

"So who does the dragon belong too?"

"Oh, um, that'll be me! His name is Toothless" Hiccup held up his hand with a hesitant smile.

"Oh. Really? But ye were scared of fire, and yer so…" she looked him up and down. "This" she waved her hand up and down presumably referring to his slight frame.

"You just gestured to all of me!" Hiccup said indignantly.

"Aye. Well, it's a surprise is all." Merida said, seemingly oblivious to the insult behind her words.

"And I'm not _scared_ of fire, I'm merely _cautiously aware _that flaming clothes tend to be bad for your health."

"O Aye? And what would you say about flaming hair?"

"Huh?"

"AHEM!" Tooth coughed loudly.

Merida, Hiccup and Jack (who had been watching the two with an entertained look on his face) looked up.

"I hate to interrupt, but our final guest is here" Tooth gestured towards the nearby door.

The three of them peered round Tooth to stare at the newcomer. Bunny walked in confidently and following behind him….

"Woah. Now _that's _a lot of hair" Jack echoed Hiccups earlier statement.

A girl of about his age stepped hesitantly from the shadowy hallway, clutching her satchel in front of her almost like a shield. Jack's eyes widened as he took in the long blonde hair scattered with flowers that fell down her back in a golden waterfall, before it stretched back out the room. As she walked towards them the hair just kept coming – was there no end to it? His eyes finally tore themselves away from her hair and followed up her dress, towards her face, before stopping at a pair of mesmerising green eyes.

Suddenly a looming figure cut off his view and Jack lurched back to look up at Bunny who was leaning over him. "Don't even think about it mate" Bunny growled in a low undertone before stepping back and beckoning the girl over.

"Think about what? I wasn't thinking anything!" Jack thought to himself indignantly.

"Everyone, this here shiela is Rapunzel, a good friend of mine. Zel, this is Tooth, Sandy and North" he gestured to the other Guardians who had finally joined them. "We haven't met but I'm assuming you two must be Merida and Hiccup?"

The two of them nodded, and then jumped and turned to look over to the corner of the room where Toothless had just accidentally sent a pile of toys crashing to the floor in his pursuit of another elf friend.

"And the stealthy one over there would be Toothless" Hiccup joked apologetically.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your other friend?" Rapunzel asked Bunny, placing her hand on his arm to get his attention and peering past him curiously.

"Oh. Right. That's Jack Frost." He said reluctantly.

"Hi there." Jack smiled over at her.

"Hi" she replied shyly.

"Well now introductions are over we should get down to business don't you think so North?" said Bunny hurriedly stepping in between the two of them again and breaking their eye contact.

"Good idea" said North gesturing everyone into a small cozy room next to his main office.

Bunny and Sand scrambled to race to their favourite chair while Tooth delicately perched on one near the window. North sat in a large high backed chair that was obviously his, with its huge cushioned arm rests and intimidating carved wooden legs.

The remaining four looked around the room hesitantly, avoiding eye contact with each other; suddenly feeling awkward. Jack was almost as new to this 'Guardian malarkey' as the rest of them, but a part of him felt as if he should help to show them the ropes and make them feel at ease.

He nipped over to the chairs around the edges of the room and dragged them over to form a quick semi-circle. Gesturing to the chairs with an encouraging smile he sat down next to Sandy (who had lost the race and picked a different chair). Rapunzel smiled back gratefully and sank into the chair next to him. Bunny, who up until then had been looking quite smug, suddenly looked like he had regretted racing over to his seat and narrowed his eyes at Jack.

Hiccup, in an attempt to be a gentleman went to gesture for Merida to go first but he needn't have worried – she was already striding past him to sit next to Rapunzel anyway. He rolled his eyes and sat down on the final chair.

After waiting for everyone to be settled North cracked his knuckles "Now, we get down to brass of tacks…"


	7. Chapter 7

After North had finished explaining about the legend of the Final Four and the situation with Pandora and Pitch, the three newcomers sat there in stunned silence.

Merida was the first to speak up: "So – why are we here? I du-nee know about nae key or dagger that's for sure! How am I supposed to be of any help?"

"Well, going by the legend, I assume he thinks that we're the final four" Hiccup explained looking at her cautiously.

"Wah?! I never asked to be nae Guardian!"

"And Season" Hiccup reminded her.

"Whatever! What makes you think it's me anyway?!" she rounded on North.

"Well, put it this way – do any of you remember who you were before your become spirits?" North asked gently.

Merida fell silent again. She looked around at the other two and by the looks on their faces you could tell the answer was a resounding _no_. "But – I…I'm not ready…for something like this…" her voice faded into silence as she looked at the floor.

"This confirms it" North said with a satisfied nod of his head. "Four spirits with an affinity for a season, with forgotten pasts. I can think of no four who match description better!"

"Jack – have you forgotten too?" Rapunzel said turning to him, playing nervously with a strand of her hair.

"I – I did. Had. Tooth helped me to remember." He replied smiling softly to himself.

"How?"

"With these" said Tooth coming forward and revealing three golden boxes she had been carrying. "When we discovered who we were looking for I went by the Tooth Palace to retrieve them. Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup – these are your memories from your previous lives" she said as she held them out towards each of them.

The boxes were cylinder in shape, though one side of the length was a sunken in rectangle with intricate patterns upon it. On the end of each cylinder was a face. One held the face of a boy that looked exactly like Hiccup except the eyes were brown. The second was obviously Merida's - there was no mistaking those ginger curls anywhere. And the third one pictured a girl with green eyes as bright as Rapunzel's, except her hair was short and brown.

Hiccup took his reverently, whilst Merida held hers in stunned silence. Rapunzel looked at her box like it was a bomb about to go off.

"It is clear in legend that Final Four must work together as four complete beings to save world from Pitch." North reminded them seriously. "It is your duty to find the parts of the dagger and bring them together to make key – this will seal Pandora and Pitch once more"

"But won't they just get free again? Surely we'll just have to deal with this all over again in another millennia or two, and I don't know about you but there only so many "end of the world" scenarios I can take…" Hiccup joked.

"Is possible" North admitted. "But I believe, with combined powers, you can defeat them forever – but only if you work as team."

Hiccup still looked concerned.

"Trust me, I feel it! – In my belly!" North said slapping his stomach.

Hiccup shared a sideways glance with Toothless. "Oh great, I love going on life-or-death quests on the say so of indigestion!" He muttered to himself in a chirpily sarcastic manner. He looked at the others around him then sighed. "Well I guess someone's gotta do it. So where do we start looking?"

"Hang on, don't go volunteering me – " Merida was cut off by Bunny giving an embarrassed cough.

"Ah, we, um, don't exactly know mates."

"You must have some idea surely?!" Jack said with an air of astonishment. "I know you said Manny never told you, but seriously? No clues?"

"Ah Manny. He loves riddles – used to send us challenges all times." North said fondly reminiscing.

"There will probably be a clue in the legend Jack, but for now, why don't you all take a moment to rest and recover your memories?" Tooth said to them gently. "It's been a long day and it's a lot of information to take in" she shot a look at Bunny and North who had opened their mouths to interject.

"We can look at the legend whilst you're taking a break, and then we can continue discussing this AFTER the ceremony." She said firmly

"Woooahhh, wait. I don't have to do it again do I?" Jack said startled.

"Different ceremony mate." Bunny said with a smirk. "The others don't know their centres yet so they can't be made official Guardians. None of you have been sworn in as a Season yet however."

"It's so exciting!" Tooth exclaimed whilst Sandy nodded excitedly behind her wearing a golden party hat, and using a silent party blower he had just conjured. "We haven't had this many ceremony's since we first became Guardians, and I've never been to a Season one before!"

Jack didn't have the heart to disappoint her by kicking up a fuss, so he merely sighed and gave her a tired smile leaning on his staff. Sheesh, all this stuff was a bore! He'd far rather get a move on and kick Pitch's ass!

"I'm just gonna go for a wander in the toy room them" Jack declared standing up. "I still haven't had a proper chance to look round there since I've been allowed in!"

"Come with me Merida, I'll show you your room" Tooth said kindly. Merida spluttered as if she wanted to say something, then sighed, grabbed her bow and stomped out of the room after her.

"Where should I go?" Rapunzel asked moving to the door

"There is room in east wing next to toy factory" said North. "Great views from window!"

"I can take you if you like" Jack offered "I'm heading that way anyway – Hey!"

"Oh no you don't you little blighter" Bunny muttered dragging Jack back by the hood of his jumper.

"Don't worry about it _mate_"he said louder for Rapunzel to hear. "I can show her the way – this way Zel, your room's not far" he ushered her out of the room.

Rapunzel, looking a little confused gave Jack a small smile and a wave over her shoulder "Oh – ok. See you later Jack!"

Jack rubbed his throat where the material had pulled on it. "What was all that about?!"

Hiccup snickered to himself and looked at Toothless who was also looking amused._ "Well I'm not gonna be the one to tell him" _he thought to the dragon.

"Hey, um, North? Is there a place I can feed Toothless? It's just that he tends to make a mess…"

"Ah yes, is fine Hiccup! Will stable do?"

Hiccup nodded.

"I shall get Phil to show you the way and send elves to bring you some food."

"Great!" said Hiccup enthusiastically. "Who's Phil?"

**Hiccup POV**

After recovering from the appearance of an intimidating large brown yeti, Hiccup found his walk to the stables incredibly interesting. He was fascinated to discover that the yeti's made the all the toys rather than the elves, and though it was a bit difficult to understand him, he got the gist.

When they arrived at the stables the reindeer stomped their feet a little nervously as they spotted Toothless. Apart from that though, Hiccup noted impressed, they held their own and remained calm.

"Well, they're not ordinary reindeer after all" he reminded himself.

Sitting on a block of hay, he thanked Phil for showing him the way, and then pulled the golden box out of his pocket once he was sure he was alone.

He blew out some air in a sigh, puffing his cheeks out as he did so to relieve some tension.

There had always been this feeling that he was missing something, but didn't know what.

He had always been very observant, and loved solving puzzles, so it had irked him ever since he could remember that he could never solve the mystery of his own beginning.

He had woken up, wrapped within Toothless' forelegs and hidden from the world by his two black wings shielding them both. As Toothless folded his wings back, they were revealed to be on a moonlit, dismal beach, on an island in the middle of no where, with his head echoing with the name Hiccup Draconian.

Wreckage of Viking ships had lain about them and a gaping hole of gigantic proportions was carved into the cliff behind. Worst of all was the corpse of an enormous dragon lying mere feet away from them.

Hiccup hadn't quite been able to take in its size – it seemed too large to be believed! And stranger still, it appeared to have been burnt to death – he didn't know how he knew, but he was sure dragons were supposed to be fire proof.

After taking in their surroundings the two spirits had looked at each other. Boy and dragon stared into identical pairs of eyes, and knew they were connected. Hiccup had hesitantly held out his hand toward the nose of the sleek black dragon before him.

Though he knew at the time he should probably have been worried (as it was more than capable of taking his hand off) he had just trusted this dragon inexplicably. The dragon had hesitated for a split second also, before leaning its head forward to place its nose in the palm of Hiccups hand.

They had both closed their eyes as if on instinct and then Hiccup felt it – he could sense the dragon's thoughts! Not words or sentences, but feelings, vague ideas and senses. And at that moment the overwhelming feeling radiating from the dragon before him was peace – and trust.

They had broken their connection and looked at each other. Hiccup grinned "Well I guess it's you and me then eh bud?"

Suddenly the dragon had pulled a grin of its own, which became even more comical when he revealed his toothless gums. "Huh. Toothless! Whaddya know…" And then Hiccup had yelped as Toothless snapped at a fly that was irritating him - a full set of sharp white teeth has suddenly sprung from those innocent looking gums of his!

Hiccup chuckled to himself as he remembered their first meeting. Though, had it really been their first? Just what would these memories reveal?

"What do you think Toothless? Should I look or is it opening a can of worms?" Toothless gave him an encouraging purr and Hiccup felt a telepathic message of the feeling of companionship. He got the message. Whatever happened, they would get through it together. He took a deep breath and opened the box.

**Merida POV**

Merida slumped onto her bed in her room and looks up at the ceiling. She didn't ask for all this responsibility!

She had thought that Jack would have protested at least a little about what they were being asked to do "He seemed much more laid back than the other Guardians" she thought. "Rapunzel seems like a sweet girl the wee lamb, but she probably doesn't realise what she is getting herself in to. And that Hiccup laddie…" she frowned

"Who does he think he is agreeing to all this on our behalf? Och, asking all those questions to try and sound intelligent and strutting around next to a freaking dragon – he's obviously trying to show off." She grumbled to herself.

No, she would have to go back in the other room and tell them she wasn't ready to be a Guardian, or a Season or whatever. She was no good at being a team player – she'd always looked out for herself and didn't spend much time with other spirits apart from the occasional archery competition with Quentin.

She glanced over at the box. Still, she had always wondered why she had woken up in the middle of a random forest in Scotland with nothing for miles around except a burnt down cottage and the moonlight filling her head with a single name – Merida Fireheart.

"These _are_ _my_ memories anyway, so I might as well look at them before giving it back" she thought, and reached over to pick up the box…

**Rapunzel's POV-**

Bunny opened the door for her to a lovely warm room decorated in warm reds and yellows. You could almost forget that there was a snowy blizzard blowing outside! "You want anything to eat or drink?" Bunny said kindly. "No, I'm fine, thank you" Rapunzel smiled back. "Well, give us a holler if you need anything, the yeti's make an ace hot chocolate!"

He paused, looking at her before speaking softly. "I know it's a lot to take in Zel, but I've known you since you were a nipper of a spirit and if anyone can do this – you can."

"Thanks Bunny" she smiled at him gratefully. He nodded and left the room closing it gently behind him.

Rapunzel let her smile fall slightly. She appreciated what Bunny said, but in all honesty, it wasn't the upcoming mission that had her so worried. She trusted Bunny wouldn't allow her to go up against this Pandora person unless he really thought she would be ok, which also meant he must trust the other three she was to be grouped with. No, what had her worried was contained in the little golden box lying on her lap.

She didn't know why, but she feared that something truly awful was hidden in those memories, and she wasn't sure if she wanted them back. She cast her mind back to her earliest memory.

Lying on the grass amongst the flowers, she woke up staring at the moon above her. "Welcome child. You are Rapunzel Rampion" it said to her. She tried to ask the voice where she was and why she was there, but it never said another word. Standing up, she turned to find that she was faced with a huge, narrow tower. By the moonlight she could make out what looked like an open window or doorway right at the top – but how on earth could anyone get up there? She began to wander round the base when she spotted an old, broken doorway, with a pile of torn down ivy next to it. It looked like it used to be concealed behind the Ivy leaves. Peering into the murky gloom inside, she took a deep break and began her ascent of the steep steps to the top of the tower.

Rapunzel flinched away from re-living the memory of what she found at the top, and looked at the box in her lap. It was bad enough when she had thought it to be a random event that she had just happened to come across. If it was somehow connected to her, part of her personal history – how could she stand it?

* * *

**Author's Note – Oooo, how did they die? I know, I know I'm mean, but I'm not quite ready to reveal it yet. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your kind reviews, I'm so excited each time I see I have a new one – I love reading them! It honestly gives me a real thrill just to see that someone is out there enjoying this, and to hear their ideas and opinions. So thank you! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Jack loved North's workshop. Though he supposed that, what with being the Guardian of fun and all, why wouldn't he – there were toys everywhere! It was the perfect playground.

He grinned to himself as he picked up a toy plane and sent it flying through the air. It swooped around the large room, rising and falling before coming into land – CRASH!

Jack winced. "Sorry!" He called over to the yeti whose neatly piled stack of toy robots had just been knocked over.

"DJOKA?! RAGATOFNE WOMBATOO…!

He heard a giggle behind him and spun around to find Rapunzel watching him from the doorway.

"Oh – hi! I didn't know you were coming here?" he smiled walking over to her.

"I kind of got bored in my room and wanted to look around" Rapunzel admitted with a guilty grin. She looked past him to take in the room properly. Her mouth fell open.

"Oh my GOSH!" she mouthed silently and then did a little skip of excitement. "This is amazing!" She rushed past him over to a table with stuffed toys on it. "These are so cute!"

Jack leant on his staff and watched her with a soft smile on his face. If she was excited by stuffed toys, he wondered what she would do when she saw some of the more magical toys in North's workshop. He imagined her face and broke into an even wider grin.

Rapunzel looked up from cooing over a green chameleon toy to find Jack looking at her. "What?" she said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly self conscious.

"It's just great to see someone else enjoying the toys around here" Jack re-assured her. "The yeti's are all about hard work, North is usually in his office or worrying about the business side of things, and the elves – well they're not really allowed to play with the toys in case they hurt themselves". They both chuckled together.

"So what have you found there?" Jack asked referring to the toy in her hands.

"Oh this? Isn't it so cute, it's –" as Rapunzel stepped forward to show him, she suddenly tripped over an elf who had unwisely got under her feet to play with her hair.

"Ooof!"

Jack had lurched forward without a second thought to catch her and he had succeeded in stopping her falling to the floor – but had managed to smack their heads together at the same time.

"Ouch!"

"Ow…sorry Punzie, are you ok?" he placed one hand on her waist to steady her and looked down to check on her whilst rubbing his forehead.

"Yes, I'm fine." She winced looking up at him. "Punzie?" she said raising one eyebrow in query.

"Well Rapunzel _is_ a bit of a mouthful" he joked. "You don't like nicknames?"

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm just not used to it that's all" she smiled back. "Bunny calls me Zel all the time, but he's the only one to have given me a nickname before…" she brushed back a piece of hair from her forehead and winced.

"Looks like you might have a bit of a bump coming up there" he said in concern, removing his hand from his own forehead and placing it on hers.

"Oh! You're cold!" Rapunzel said in surprise.

"Oh right. Sorry." Jack said starting to pull his hand away, but Rapunzel caught his wrist and pressed it gently back onto her forehead.

"No it's ok. It's good actually. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you bump your head? Put something cold against it?" She looked up at him with an innocent smile and he gazed down into her green eyes getting lost in them for a moment.

"I never noticed she has some cute freckles on her nose…" Jack thought to himself.

"Hey Zel, where are you?!"

The two jumped and moved apart just as Bunny walked into the room. He looked at the two of them suspiciously. "Everything ok?"

"Yes I just wanted to look at some of the toys - they are amazing! Jack has been showing me around." Rapunzel gushed excitedly.

"Oh he has, has he?" Bunny's eyes narrowed at Jack.

"Hey what's with the attitude koala bear? You've been on my case ever since you got back!" Jack said, finally snapping.

"Koa – what did you just call me?" Bunny said starting to advance on him.

"You heard me! Come on, you've had a been acting like you've got a didgeridoo stuck up your –"

"Watch it fella! You don't want to take me on"

"What am I supposed to be scared of? Your flying stick?"

"You're one to talk! What do you call that twig of yours?"

"HEY!" Rapunzel yelled. Suddenly Bunny's boomerang and Jack's staff were pulled out of there hands - Rapunzel had used a stream of hair in both hands with incredible accuracy to flick it at the weapons like whips. Wrapping round the two wooden items, she jerked them back towards her and promptly caught one in each hand.

"NO. FIGHTING." She said looking at them sternly. The two of them just looked at her, frozen and open mouthed in disbelief.

"That – was pretty awesome." Jack thought to himself impressed.

"Can't you guys just get along? I thought you were supposed to be friends?!" She chastised them, putting the weapons on the floor.

The two of them gave each other a sideways look and then looked away awkwardly.

"All this stuff that is happening isn't exactly easy for me to take in you know and it would really help if you guys could just get along. Bunny, you know I haven't met many people, you should be happy I'm making new friends! And Jack, Bunny is like a big brother to me, so give him a bit of slack ok?"

"But I-"

"But he-"

Rapunzel held up one finger as if to say "not one more word" and gave them a stern look.

The two men looked at each other and then sighed reluctantly. "Sorry for getting carried away Jack" Bunny conceded.

"Sorry for, you know, calling you a kangaroo." Jack admitted

"You didn't call me a kangaroo,"

"I know but I thought it."

"Argh, boys!" Rapunzel threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

* * *

Hiccup hadn't originally planned on eating anything but after watching Toothless scoff down all the fish the elves brought him he figured he might as well take the time to eat too.

So leaving Toothless to finish making a mess of the fish, he wandered back into the main building and followed the directions of a passing yeti to the kitchens. He opened the door and peered in.

He was almost swooning at the lovely smells that were drifting toward him and the array of baked good on display, when he heard a loud crunch and turned his head sharply to see what it was.

Merida was sitting on a table in the corner of the room swinging her legs, and she had just taken a huge bite out of a crunchy red apple. She was watching the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, keeping out of the yeti chef's way and presumably sitting on the table to she didn't accidentally stumble over an elf – many of whom were scurrying around the floor looking for a chance to nab a bit of food.

Watching her giggle to herself as two elves walked straight into each other in their hurry to get away with a stolen cookie, Hiccup thought that he much preferred this look to the frustrated, stubborn one she's had so far. "She really lights up when she smiles" he thought.

Suddenly Merida caught sight of him. "What did you want?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh well, it was nice while it lasted" he sighed to himself.

"Don't mind me, I was just hungry so I came along to see what I could find. Toothless is still in the stables scoffing down fish, and to be honest it puts me right off my food watching him tear their heads of and spray their guts everywhere."

Merida allowed herself a small smile as she pictured it, but quickly hid it with another bite of her apple.

"Oooo cherry pie!" Hiccup cheered as he crossed over to stand next to her. "Hey, can I have some of this?" he called over to a nearby yeti.

"Rofta" the cook replied, waving his hand in a "sure, go ahead" motion.

Hiccup cut himself a slice and took a big bite. "Mmmm…that's delicious!" he mumbled around his mouthful of pie.

Merida, who has been trying to ignore him looked over and burst out laughing.

"Huh? What?" Hiccup said in surprise.

"Ha ha ha! I'm sorry but ye – ye have something on yer nose" Merida said in fits of giggles.

Hiccup crossed his eyes to look and sure enough, right on the end of his nose he had somehow managed to get a bright red cherry stuck on it.

"Woops!" he laughed along with her.

"Are ye trying to put Rudolph out of a job then?" Merida chortled.

"Nah, Toothless is better at the flying stuff, I wouldn't be much good without him" Hiccup grinned. "Though with all this raw strength…" he gestured to his obviously skinny arms, posing them in a 'macho' bicep curl "…I'd be great at pulling the sleigh" he joked.

Both of their laughter trailed off as they looked at each other smiling. Merida would never admit it out loud, but seeing him make fun of himself and hearing him admit how much he needed Toothless, had raised Hiccup in her estimation. Maybe he wasn't as stuck up as she had thought!

A yeti came over to them, gesturing for them to make room so he could put a plate of newly baked cookies on the table, so Merida hopped down.

"Well then, shall we head back to find the others?" she said taking another bite of her apple.

"Sure, though I'll need to fetch Toothless from the stables first."

"I'll come with ye" Merida said wiping her mouth with her sleeve and confidently striding past him. "I've always liked stables and I want to see what the infamous 'Father Christmas's' one is like."

"Oh ok – sure!" Hiccup said hurrying to catch up with her. Suddenly she stopped dead in the hallway.

"Er – which way is it?" she looked at him sheepishly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note - Apologies that this one took a little longer to come out - things are going to get a bit more complicated now and I had to plan ahead to make sure I was writing things in the right order. I have the whole plot bullet-pointed now however, so the rest should come fairly smoothly. **

**A heads up - things are going to get a bit more angsty fairly shortly, so I'll likely up the rating a bit just to be safe. Violence in fight scenes and the like. **

**Thank you for those who have reviewed, it means the world to me and I really am inspired by what you are enjoying (or not enjoying - you can tell me that too if you like!). I have already added in more detail for Merida and Hiccup that I had originally intended as one reviewer was so excited to hear about it - so it does pay to let me know what you would like to see! I can't promise it obviously, so don't be offended if I can't include something,but it is always worth asking :) **

**So without further ado - chapter 9! **

* * *

"Heya bud!" Hiccup exclaimed as Toothless bounded over to greet him. "I see you finished all your fish - no, no Toothless - ! Urgh…"

To express his happiness at his friends return (or to punish him for leaving in the first place) Toothless placed a big slobbery lick on the side of Hiccups face, making sure to breathe his newly fish-odoured breath all over him.

"Thanks for that bud, just what I always wanted…" Hiccup trailed off sarcastically, wiping his cheek. Toothless merely grinned at him with his tongue flopping out the side of his mouth.

"Sorry about that" Hiccup turned round to speak to Merida. He paused, finding her staring at Toothless with a mixture of curiosity, hesitation and excitement.

"He's amazing…" she breathed, getting a proper look at him. "I did'nae really see him properly before" she moved closer stretching her hand out slowly towards him – making eye contact with Toothless to make sure she had his permission.

In truth, she had been a bit nervous of approaching him back in the workshop, but her stubborn pride had kicked in and she had been determined to appear confident and aloof to the 'new guys'. Too often had she been judged for being 'just a girl' or a spirit of 'no importance' and she hadn't been about to let this group of (mainly male) powerful spirits intimidate her.

When Toothless accepted her advance with a slow blink of his eyes and a slight nod of the head, she ran her fingers down the smooth scales of his back.

"Yeah…he's pretty something" Hiccup said softly, watching the interaction with a proud look in his eyes.

"His wings are huge!" Merida cried in awe, running her hands along them. "His wing span must be what – 48 feet? And his legs – they look pretty powerful too! You must be incredibly strong Toothless."

Toothless preened, while Hiccup rolled his eyes at his friend. "Yeah I guess so, but be careful you'll give him a big head!"

This was followed by a growl from his dragon counter-part but Hiccup knew not to take it seriously and pulled a face at him.

Merida's hands ran down the tail and came to the replacement tail fin that Hiccup had invented. "Did you make this Hiccup?" she asked curiously.

"What?" he asked, distracted from making faces at Toothless. "Oh that - yeah" he said feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason.

"When Toothless and I first 'woke up' I guess you could say, he was missing the left half of his tail fin. He can't fly without it, so it was only after I learnt my control over the wind that we were able to travel off the island we were on by using it to keep up airborne." He turned and laid his hand on Toothless' nose and they stared into each others eyes caught up in the memories.

"I designed the replacement tail fin quite easily, but I didn't have the equipment or materials to hand to make it" he admitted. "That's actually how I already know North. I had already heard of him by then from the other spirits I had met around the world, so I came to the workshop to ask for his help. He helped me make it. I'll always be grateful, but I dunno - I just -" he paused. "I can't help but feel guilty from time to time that Toothless can't fly without me - it just feels unfair." Toothless whined in a reassuring manner.

Merida watched him as Hiccup stood there, obviously cut up about his dragon's plight, and felt her heart melt a little bit.

"Hmm" she said thoughtfully, with a glint in her eye. "Well, forget about flying, how fast would you say he could run?"

"Pretty fast" Hiccup said slowly, jolting out of his somber mood and turning back to face her "Why?"

"Whaddya say to a race? No flying, just running - you on Toothless and me on a reindeer?" She said excitedly.

"Wah?!"

"Oh go on, it will be fun! I can ride pretty much anything, and how amazing would it be to ride one of _North's reindeer?! _I cannae pass this opportunity up! But it will much more fun if I had a bit of competition – unless you dunnae think yer up to it eh Toothless?" Merida teased with a mischievous look.

"I dunno – hey, woah, Toothless!" Hiccup began to protest but Toothless had grabbed him by the back of his harness and flung him over his back to land in a tangle of limbs on the saddle. No reindeer was going to beat him!

Merida, seeing that Hiccup was over ruled by Toothless gave out an excited woop and rushed over to saddle a nearby reindeer.

* * *

Jack swung his leg over the edge of the roof, gazing out at the arctic landscape before him. He sighed.

Bunny had taken Rapunzel off to get some hot chocolate, so he'd decided to take the chance for a breath of fresh air. He was never one to be cooped up indoors for too long and, after Rapunzel had left, the toy workshop just hadn't been able to re-capture his interest for some reason.

He guessed he just had too much to think about at the moment. After all, this whole 'Season' stuff with the keys and end of the world prophecy – that was a lot of responsibility to put on a guy!

"Though" he conceded to himself "I guess that's why I have the others."

He thought about the other people he had met that day.

Merida was obviously a real fire-cracker. Hot headed and stubborn, but with a real spirit to her that made him think she would be a lot of fun. He couldn't imagine her putting up with rubbish from anyone, but thought that she would be equally as fiercely protective of her friends.

Hiccup was a great laugh, if seemingly more reserved on the outside. Intelligent and thoughtful, Jack figured that he was probably one of those guys who got far more out of a given situation than your average person would. Understanding more than was being let on, spotting potential problems and inventing solutions quicker than it would likely take Jack just to figure out what was going on in the first place.

And Rapunzel….Jack felt a growing warmth in his chest; which was odd because he couldn't remember feeling warm since the moment he'd become a spirit! He rubbed the area over his heart thoughtfully – he hoped he wasn't coming down with something. Could spirits get ill? He wondered, before shaking his head and getting his thoughts back on track.

"Anyway, Punz seems like a really sweet girl. Kind, caring, maybe a bit excitable, but she definitely knows how to handle herself" he chuckled remembering how she had both his and Bunny's weapons out of their hands before they even knew what was happening. She had been pretty cross with them, but if he hadn't been so impressed with her moves at the time and feeling a bit guilty at causing her worry, he might have admitted that he found something about the stern looks she gave them pretty cute….

Jack was suddenly jolted out of his musing by the sound of shouts and laughter. He looked down in astonishment to watch Hiccup on Toothless and – was that Merida? – on a reindeer sprinting across the frozen tundra in a frantic race.

He grinned to himself. "Well now, that's just not on!" he said in mock seriousness conjuring up a snowball in his hand. "You can't go having fun and leave me out of it!"

* * *

Merida grew closer to the agreed finish line of a humongous pile of snow a bit further out from the workshop. Her reindeer (Dasher is she remembered correctly) thundered across the snow, causing it to tremble below them.

Toothless was fast, true, but Dasher was from a proud line of monstrous, magical reindeer, and this was his home turf. She could hear his hooves pounding the ground below them, as they slowly started to pull ahead of Toothless. They were nearly there – she was going to win! She turned around to give Hiccup a triumphant smirk when – THWAK!

Merida got a snowball to the face and went flying off her reindeer straight into the soft pile of snow that was the finishing line. She took a moment to recover from the shock and then sat up spluttering.

"WHO DID THA'?! I'LL GUT YE, YER YELLOW, LILLY LIVERED –"

She stopped short on catching sight of Jack floating down to meet them (Hiccup had stopped and jumped off Toothless to check she was ok) laughing out loud.

"Oooooo! I'll KILL yer Frost!" she scooped up a pile of snow and launched a snowball at him with surprisingly accurate aim. He dodged it just in time and started to sprint away, creating more ammunition with his staff as he went.

Merida began to run after him, and Hiccup called after her "Does this mean the race is over?!"

"Yes - but I still beat ye!" she yelled back over her shoulder. "Now come on and help me get him back!"

Hiccup exchanged a look with Toothless before grinning and grabbing a snowball of his own.

* * *

Bunny guided Rapunzel outside as they went to look for Jack. After their hot chocolate, she had insisted on going to find him to see if he wanted one too. Bunny had tried to explain that Jack wasn't really one for hot beverages, but she refused to believe anyone wouldn't like something so yummy!

So here they were, Rapunzel cradling a mug of hot chocolate for Jack in her hands, and making their way outside to where he said he'd be. Bunny frowned slightly.

"It's not that I don't like Jack" he thought to himself. "Manny knows he's already proven himself to me by helping to save the children, making Jamie believe in me and helping restore my powers. It's just that…" he looked sideways at Rapunzel who was walking along obliviously with a content smile on her face.

"Zel is so …good. Just sweet, nice and caring, not a bad bone in her body. Sure she took me by surprise back there with that hair trick of hers" he conceded "but apart from that she's so – helpless. Yes helpless, that's it." He thought determinedly. "It's not right to leave her to deal with the evil things in this world; she should remain untainted by it."

He remembered when he first met her – how frightened and nervous she was. Of him! A bunny for christs sake! He'd spared her as much time as he could; teaching her about being a spirit and helped her learn about her powers. He remembered proudly watching her grow in confidence and ability, and the beauty of the flowers she created. He was fiercely protective over that little sheila and he wasn't afraid to admit it. She needed someone who could protect her for the trials to come.

"And Jack is just so…"

They came out the end of the tunnel they had been walking down and were faced with an all out snow battle. Jack was sprinting around and came to stop just in front of them, clearly not having spotted them yet. Toothless, who had been bounding after him, stopped and swept his tail towards them all, creating a wave of snow that covered them before Bunny had time to react.

"….reckless." he finished his earlier thought out loud, and stood there looking immensely un-amused.

Jack, who was laughing and brushing snow out of his hair, turned round at the sound of Bunny's voice to see him and Rapunzel standing there covered from head to toe in the soft white ice.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there! You're just in time though, I needed more people on my team – those three are ganging up on me!" he gestured at the others over his shoulder with him thumb.

"Not on your nelly mate, I only came out here because – Hey!" Bunny angrily wiped snow out of his eyes from the snowball that had just hit him in the side of the head. But then he realised, (looking at Jack who was holding his hands up in innocence) that the snowball didn't come from him, it came from….

"Zel?!"

"Gotcha! You're it!" she said and scampered off with a mischievous grin on her face – the now snow filled hot chocolate lying forgotten on the floor.

He couldn't be angry at that face, and forgave her before he even had a chance to be annoyed. "Oooo, you don't want to race a rabbit Zel!" he chuckled, grabbing a snowball and leaping after her.

"Bunny? What's all the noise about – Argh!" Tooth, who had come out with Sandy to investigate all the commotion, got caught in the cross fire and they quickly threw themselves whole heartedly into the game.

Shrieks of laughter and shouting echoed off the outer walls of the workshop and surrounding icebergs, as the Guardians and the Seasons let loose and had some real fun for the first time in a long time.

Jack flew up in the air and took a moment to survey his handiwork with a mixture of fondness and pride. Despite the fact they had only just met, despite the looming danger hanging over their heads and the threat of things to come, at this one moment – he had never felt so content. He felt peaceful, happy and safe. It was like…being with family he suddenly realised. Shocked from his realisation, he missed that Hiccup had noticed him in the air and was now moving his hands in his direction.

Suddenly the wind picked up to an almighty gale that was concentrated solely on Jack, and threw him back down to earth to land in a pile of fluffy snow.

"No hiding up in the air Jack!" Hiccup chastised teasingly.

"Yeah ye don't get out of it that easily!" Merida called out from the icy ditch she had taken shelter in.

Everyone laughed, Jack most of all as he sat up from snowy indent he had made. Suddenly a shadow fell over him and he looked up.

North stood there with a disappointed look on his face and his arms held behind his back in an intimidating stance. As the others noticed him, they quietened down and came to a standstill.

North gazed at them all one by one, pinning them down with his gaze. "I am disappointed. Truly I am. I honestly thought you all knew better…."

They all looked at the ground in embarrassment, and shuffled their feet nervously.

….than to leave me out of the fun!" North finished, breaking into a wide grin, and with a mirthful laugh revealed the huge snowball behind his back - before promptly dropping it on Jack's head.


	10. Chapter 10

As the snowball fight came to a natural end, North declared it a draw (he had to placate Merida and Jack who were each insisting that they were the winner) and suggested everyone head inside to clean up and dry off from the snow.

"Is nearly time for ceremony" he reminded them. "When moon should be at highest point, we shall swear you in as Seasons – then, will be official!"

Jack watched as everyone began to drift inside and turned around to find Merida still standing there.

"You not going in?" he enquired.

"Naw, I'll dry off from the snow in aboot two seconds flat once my hair flames up" she grinned. "You?"

"I'm practically made of the stuff" Jack joked back "so not much point!"

"So.." he continued with a cheeky grin "despite the fact that I thrashed you in the snowball fight –"

"Oi! Yer did not!"

"- you were throwing some pretty accurate snowballs there." he finished, acting as if he hadn't heard her.

"Well" answered Merida, deciding to let his jibe slide for now "I've had lots of practise at aiming with me archery. You ever tried?"

"Can't say I have."

"Well, we have some time, how about I teach yer?

"Sure why not!" Jack responded enthusiastically. "Should be fun!"

"Hmm we need a target…" Merida said thoughtfully looking around them.

"Got it covered!" Jack said cockily. He walked a few feet away and span his staff in a circle before banging it on the ground. Up sprung a target made from solid ice, glittering enticingly at the two of them.

"Brilliant, now we can take it in turns with me bow!" Merida took charge, secretly a bit impressed with Jack's display of powers. "Watch me first and then ye can have a go."

Jack stood off to one side and leant on his staff to watch her as she demonstrated the basics.

"Drawing the bow right can be the difference between shooting a good shot or skinning yer arm - when ye start it is important to be relaxed. Face the bow toward the ground with yer arrow notched, then draw the bow as ye bring it up to yer face." She did so, pulling her fingers to the corner of her mouth.

"Make sure ye dunnae hold it too long or ye will strain yer arm and whilst aiming, remember to account for drop over distance. Finally when ye release just let – GO".

She let the arrow fly upon saying go and hit the target dead in the center – causing it to crack and split in two!

"Woops…"

"No worries" Jack says bounding over. "That's the great thing about ice: you just melt it –" he waved his staff one way over the shattered target and it melted away "- and re-freeze it again!" he waved it the other way and the target rebuilt itself from ice.

"Ok, ok, pretty impressive Frost I'll give you that – but let's see how well you can shoot." Merida teased. She passed him the bow, making sure any flames were well and truly out before hand.

He gave her a cocky look and began to notch his arrow. "I can't imagine it'll be that hard, after all you just – just…" he strained to pull the bow back – "Manny, what is this thing made of?! Come on bow- just- shoot!"

He let it go and the arrow flew wildly off course into a distant snow drift. "Um – two out of three?" he ruffled the back of his head with an embarrassed grin whilst Merida fell on the floor laughing.

* * *

Rapunzel walked into one of North's cosy sitting rooms after she had finished drying off her clothes. She was still getting the hang of where everything was – the workshop was just so big!

She looked round the room and spotted Hiccup hunched over at a desk whilst Toothless was curled up snoozing by the fire. She walked softly over to him and looked over his shoulder.

Her eyes widened as she saw that he was sketching Toothless – and he was really good! "Oh! That's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

Hiccup gave a startled yelp and promptly fell off the side of his chair.

After a jumble of apologies and tangled limbs as Rapunzel tried to help him up, Hiccup eventually got settled back in his chair, his face flushing with embarrassment.

"I didn't mean to startle you" Rapunzel said apologetically, perching on the edge of a nearby armchair and facing him. "It's just I had no idea you enjoyed drawing!"

"Well, sketching isn't exactly a typical Viking trait" Hiccup joked self deprecatingly. "I've never really shown them to anyone before…"

"Why not?!"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Well it's kinda a long story…"

She shuffled the armchair closer and leant forward with her elbows on her knees and head in her hands, looking at him expectantly with an encouraging smile.

Hiccup sighed. Rapunzel really was one of those girls you just couldn't say no to!

"When I became a spirit I guess I just never had anyone to share them with – it was just me and Toothless really. But before then – when I was alive – it was different. I had people to share them with – but I didn't."

Something shifted in Rapunzel's face as she looked at him, realising that he was reliving his memories – he newly gained memories.

Possibly Hiccup picked up on her line of thought, because he continued "I didn't remember any of this until Tooth gave me my memory box. But I guess some habits die hard – even if you're already dead." He gave a wry chuckle.

"I was born a Viking – Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe to be specific. My father was Stoick the Vast, and he was our Chief. Now you have to understand, dad was – well everything a Viking _should _be. He was over 7 feet tall, biceps bigger than my head, and a voice that could boom louder than any Thunder Drum. He was a _legend. _And what he was most well known for was his hatred of and ability to kill dragons." Hiccup paused to look over at Toothless, lost in thought.

"I was so desperate to prove myself. To prove that I wasn't just some walking fishbone. After all, Vikings aren't supposed to look like _this." _he gestured to himself.

"I just – I just wanted him to be _proud_ of me." Rapunzel detected a slight crack in his voice, and watched silently as he closed his eyes for a moment to gain control of himself.

"Since I was obviously lacking in the strength department I was always inventing things to try and help the village, but they never quite worked. Something always went wrong, and I became known as an accident waiting to happen – a walking catastrophe. I hid my drawings because I couldn't bear the look on dad's face when he saw them – like a mixture of disappointment and desperation.

Then, one day, I met Toothless. I had shot him down with one of my inventions and found him in the forest, but when it came to killing him – to proving that I was just as much a Viking as anyone else in the village – I couldn't. I looked into his eyes and saw he was just as scared as I was. He _was _me. So I cut him free."

He fell silent for a while, so Rapunzel softly prompted him. "What happened next?"

He roused from his reminiscing and turned to look her in the eye. "You mean after he'd roared at me and caused me to nearly wet myself?" he chuckled. "I'd caused Toothless to lose his left tail fin, so he couldn't fly – he was stuck in a cove so I visited him nearly every day to bring him food and study him. It took a while, but over time I earned his trust and I learnt that everything we knew about dragons was just wrong – they weren't mindless killing machines at all. They were intelligent, resourceful and could be as kind as they were fierce.

I was an apprentice at the village blacksmiths, so I used the tools and materials to make Toothless' tail, and with that we learned to fly together. I just can't put it into words how amazing that was…" Toothless purred at him from over by the fire, obviously listening but too comfortable to move.

"It couldn't last though. Dad ended up finding out about Toothless and he captured him – forcing him to lead the tribe to Dragon Island, in an attempt to wipe out all the dragons once and for all. He wouldn't listen to me – I'd already found out that the reason the dragons had been attacking us and stealing our food was because they lived in fear of this beast, this _monster_, of a dragon back on their island. If they didn't feed it, _they _became dinner.

By the time dad realised his mistake, it was too late and this _thing_ was attacking everyone. He realised that I was right, and set Toothless free so we could try and stop it….he said he was sorry and was proud to call me his son…I'll never forget that." Hiccup looked down sadly.

Almost not daring to ask, Rapunzel whispered – "And the monster?"

"We defeated it – just. Toothless and I had help from my friends who I had shown how to train dragons too. We saved them - we saved them all didn't we bud?" He walked over and leant down to hug Toothless round the neck. Rapunzel breathed a sigh of relief thinking that the story had ended happily – forgetting one vital fact.

"But we didn't quite make it. We were up in the air when we burnt that thing from the inside out but in the resulting fireball Toothless' tail fin was burned up – and he can't fly without it." Hiccup finished softly.

Only the sounds of the fire crackling and Toothless' breathing filled the room as Rapunzel let everything sink in and Hiccup took a moment to reign in his emotions. He hadn't minded telling Rapunzel, but the first time speaking about his death was always going to be hard. The moment he had opened that box he had known there was no going back, and as hard as those memories might have been he wouldn't change anything.

Those memories made him who he was. They reminded him of what he was fighting for – families and futures. Though he had lost his, that didn't mean he was about to let others lose theirs.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of your drawings" Rapunzel said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?" he said a little confused.

"You shouldn't hide them." She continued with more confidence. "Just look at what amazing things you have done with them! Your imagination and creativity gave Toothless back the ability to fly! I don't know anyone else who could do that! You have an eye for detail and drawing has obviously honed your skills of observation – perfect for the tactics you need when fighting!" she said passionately, walking over to him and taking both his hands in hers.

"You have a gift" you said seriously staring into his eyes. "You should never be afraid to show it."

Hiccup blinked, a little taken aback by the intensity of Rapunzel's gaze, but then his eyes softened and he gave her a small smile, gently squeezing her hands. "Thanks Punz. I'll remember that."

She smiled back and gave a small nod of satisfaction before dropping his hands and heading back to the table. She dragged over a chair and then pulled a sketch book out of her satchel.

"I'm actually quite into drawing and painting myself – mind if I join you?" she said gesturing at the free seat next to her.

"Toothless can never have too much attention" Hiccup chuckled, and went over to pick up his pencil.

* * *

The cave was dark.

Dark, dingy, depressing.

Perfect.

Platforms of varying sizes and heights littered the cave, with jagged staircases and bridges to connect them. The cavern appeared to go on forever, cloaked in darkness to hide its secrets.

The shadows curled back as if torn apart by the very presence of the one who walked amongst them. The woman was tall, regal and clothed in an elegant dress that one might say was purple, but if they looked closer would see it shifted hues in chaotic swirls.

Her hair was inky black and floated around her as if it was submerged in water, and her skin a pearly grey. But of the few who had ever seen her, if they had survived to remember her, it was not the colour of her hair, or skin or dress that they would recall. No, it was the colour of her eyes. Piercing and green, they glowed with malice and hate. At all times appearing calm and controlled, but underneath you could sense the boiling, writhing, utter joy at pure unbridled chaos. They glowed with the colour of madness.

She slowly approached the centre of the platform she stood upon and laid her hand on her precious box. To an untrained eye it looked like a large boulder, though made of a stone never before seen by any living eye. Blacker than night, it absorbed any light that dared to land upon it – except for the piercing purple light that leaked from the cracks upon its surface. And escaping with that light were whispers. Whispers of malice and mischief, calamity and chaos.

"Shhhhh" she soothed, leaning towards it. "Soon darlings, soon."

"I trust you've made yourself comfortable Pandora?" a voice called out of the darkness. She smirked before turning to address the voice.

"Pitch, you know I detest raising my voice, come here so I don't have to shout down to you."

"Anything for you my lady" the voice now came from her left and she turned to meet her subordinate as he appeared to rise out of the shadowy floor.

"Do you have it?"

"Did you ever doubt me?" Pitch asked, passing her an object he held in his hands.

"Well the last time I left you to your own devices hardly turned out well for you did it?"

"_That _was _not _my fault." Pitch answered with a restrained bite to his voice. "I told you, Jack Frost's power was –"

"Unexpected, yes." She said coldly. "At least to _you. _If you had stopped to listen to me when I released you before rushing off on some hap hazard revenge plan you would never have got into that mess."

She clasped the object in her hand and when she opened up her palm it had vanished.

"I, however, knew what was coming, and I've been planning how to stop it."

"You could have helped me you know, when I was being thrown about by Sandman like a ragdoll…" Pitch sulked slightly.

"Now Now, Pitchy, you know I don't like to get my hands dirty" she crooned, leaning over and caressing his cheek with a single slim finger. He held back a shiver and tried to ignore his senses that were telling him to _run away._

"I plan and you carry out those plans remember? Once I have finished preparing the item we can put things into action to put at end to those _Guardians _once and for all." She turned and glided away from him.

"And what about the Seasons?"

She paused. "Do you know where the Seasons get their main power from Pitch? From _working together_. A single season is incomplete – only all four working in harmony can create the balance needed to reach their full potential. We _must_ collect the key fragments before them at all costs, or else they will use it to seal my box for good, rather than opening it like I intend to. We have to stop them before they can gather them."

"And how do we do that exactly?"

Pandora grinned evilly at him.

"We _break _them."

* * *

**Author's note - And here come the baddies! What do you think?**

**I've also tried to create a balanced interaction between the four, because as much as I love them as romantic couples I think it is important to try and evenly build all of their relationships, not just Rapunzel and Jack and Hiccup and Merida. Is that coming across?**

I look forward to each and every review - so thank you in advance if you take the time to leave me one :)


	11. Chapter 11

The globe room was lit with lanterns, covering the room in warm flickering glow. The sky light was thrown wide open, but where before you would have seen the moon shining brightly down upon them, all that remained was a black empty space.

Jack glanced up at where he knew MiM was, wondering what it must be like cut off from them all, unable to help. "We're on it MiM, don't worry" he thought.

North's elves scattered before him as he moved to the centre of the room, and he could hear their bells jangling as they pushed and shoved one another to get a good view.

The rest of the Guardians were waiting in silent anticipation, gathered around the circular floor panel with the letter 'G' engraved upon it. As North turned to acknowledge his presence, Jack noticed that he held in his hands a large book – it reminded him of the one he had had before for the Guardian Ceremony, but this one had a silver 'S' embossed upon it rather than a golden 'G'.

"Come" North gestured to him and the other three who were waiting at the edge of the room. "Stand on corner"

"Which one?" Hiccup said, looking at the diamond shape that framed the inner circle. Each triangular segment had a picture of either North, Sandman, Bunny or Tooth on it.

"Whichever one feels right."

The four of them looked at each other nervously before Jack stepped forward. He stepped gingerly on Tooth's platform, tensing as he waited for something to happen. When nothing did he raised his eyebrow at North who shrugged.

So he decided to try the others just in case, as he couldn't really say if this corner felt 'right' or not. What the heck was 'right' supposed to feel like anyway?!

Hopping onto Sandy's corner – nope nothing. A sidestep onto North's segment – still the same. Which left –

"Oh you've got to be kidding me" Jack muttered under his breath. He had just taken a reluctant step onto Bunny's image, when a slight shiver went through him. It was like a slight buzzing sensation, not unpleasant, but definitely something you would notice.

He sighed, slumping his shoulders and dropping his head to face the floor. "_Not._" he held one finger up at Bunny without even looking at him "_One. Word."_

"I wasn't gonna say anything mate" Bunny said holding up his hands defensively, but his smirk said otherwise.

Rapunzel went next, starting at Sandman's corner first before moving to North's. "Oh!" She let out a soft sigh of surprise before nodding to herself. She'd found hers.

Merida strode forward, meaning to pass over Sandy's spot on the way to Tooth's, but she stopped almost the moment her foot hit his image. By the look on her face, it was obvious she was feeling the strange buzzing sensation too.

"Guess I know which one is mine then" Hiccup joked and went to complete the circle by standing on Tooth's part of the diamond.

The second Hiccup had stood in his rightful place, a shooting warmth flooded through all four of them. They looked at each other in surprise, confirming they hadn't been the only one to feel it.

North stepped forward with the book as Sandy, Tooth and Bunny spread round to stand behind their normal places.

As they did so, the four in the center jumped slightly as the circle with the G upon it split in half to reveal a cylinder pedestal which rose out of the floor to about waist height. Instead of reading from the book, North leaned forward and carefully placed the book in an open position on the newly risen pedestal. Peering at it curiously, Jack could see that the pages were completely blank!

"Now place hand upon book" North instructed.

Each of the four reached forward hesitantly and laid their hand gently on the book. Hiccup, who was left handed, accidentally brushed his hand against Merida's, causing them both to flinch slightly and look away from each other with a faint blush.

North cleared his throat and began.

"Will you Jack frost, Hiccup Draconian, Merida Fireheart and Rapunzel Rampion, vow to watch over the seasons? To do your duty in guiding the circle of life and death of nature's creations, and bring balance and harmony to the world?"

"We will" All four of them responded.

"Then congratulations, because you are now all and forever more – Seasons!" North boomed, breaking into a wide smile.

"What, no music this time?" Jack joked.

Just as they all smiled in relief and were about to pull their hands away, the book suddenly began shining with a stunningly bright silver light. Though it took them by surprise, it was as if each of them instinctively knew not to move their hands from the book as they squinted their eyes closed.

As the light faded, they leant forward – there was something now written on the page in silvery writing.

**A Gem you'll need for every key,**

**To find them look inside of thee. **

**A dagger stripped down to its source**

**When joined becomes a deadly force.**

"What's that?" Rapunzel asked in awe.

"Is a message from Manny!" North gasped. "He must have planted it in book when he gave me prophecy!"

"Argh, that codger is obsessed with riddles!" Bunny complained.

"Yeah, couldn't he have made it a bit clearer?!" Jack protested. "We already know we need to search for these key fragments, but now we need Gem's too? We don't even know where to start looking for any of them!"

As if responding to Jack's words, the four of them suddenly felt the book grow warm to their touch. They looked down and before their eyes more words began to appear.

**If you insist upon a clue**

**Then let me spell it out for you**

**Search within the Guardian's Test**

**Where what you need is laid to rest.**

"Always the joker…" Bunny muttered. "You and MiM would have got on well Jack before he went up and hid himself away in that big moon of his."

"Wait, why can't you just tell us straight where they are?" Hiccup addressed the book. But no amount of questioning revealed anything else – it appeared that those were the only answers Manny had prepared before giving the book to North all those years ago.

Feeling that it was now safe to let go, the four of them relinquished their hold on the pages. Thankfully the writing still remained.

"So….what now?" Jack asked.

"Hold up, let me get this straight" Hiccup said, obviously trying to sort out the details in his head.

"There was a dagger which works like a key. MiM split it –" he checked the writing again "-'down to its source' and hid the pieces somewhere. We need a Gem for each key for some reason, and either they, or the key fragments are found in something called 'The Guardian's Test'? Does that pretty much sum it up?"

"Pretty much as far as I can see" Tooth replied.

"This key…" Rapunzel said hesitantly. "I was thinking – if it's what Pandora needs to unlock the box, why didn't MiM just destroy the pieces rather than hide it?"

"Huh – good point!" Jack thought to himself, wondering why he hadn't thought of that before. Though Rapunzel might be quiet, there was obviously a great deal of intelligence behind those gorgeous green eyes of hers. Wait – gorgeous?

"Manny must have known that the lock would weaken one day and would need re-sealing." Tooth explained. "They power of the dagger – or key – all lies in the intent of the person using it. Just like you can lock, or unlock something with a key, you can either seal the box for good, or release its evil into the world like Pandora is planning. Merely destroying the pieces would stop her unlocking it completely, true, but over time a great deal of chaos would leak out into the world – and we can't let that happen."

"And MiM couldn't have just given it to North for safe keeping? Where or what on earth is the Guardian's Test?" Hiccup asked sounding exasperated.

Jack couldn't blame him. He was starting to get a bit of a headache himself, whilst Merida looked like she wanted to bang her head – or someone else's – against a wall.

Suddenly Jack noticed the dark looks his fellow Guardians were giving each other.

"What?" he asked cautiously. "Why the grim faces?"

Toothiana sighed before she began to explain. "We know what the Guardian's Test is. But –" she interrupted their premature sighs of relief "it's not pleasant. Did any of you ever wonder how we got our home bases? Not very many spirits have a permanent residence after all."

"Err…no actually. I just figured it came hand in hand with being a Guardian." Jack admitted. "Actually, that's a point – where's mine? Don't I get an ice palace or something?" he teased.

"I don't think Seasons have a home base mate, what with having to move around the world as the time of year changes an' all." Bunny said in a teasing yet friendly tone. "But yeah, the home bases are kinda linked with being a Guardian – but only because we're some of the few spirits powerful enough to gain one."

"There are pockets of magic around the world" North continued "with an almost unlimited amount of untapped potential. If you are strong enough, you can turn this power into a place of your own – and it is linked to you and you alone."

"That's why if our powers ever start to fade, so too do our homes." Tooth said sadly, remembering her own near miss. "But to take control of that magic you must first defeat it – in the Guardian's Test."

Images flashed above Sandy's head too quick to catch, though Jack thought he caught sight of a rather unnerving skull and crossbones at one point.

"Like Sandy says" Bunny continued "It's pretty dangerous. The magic is wild and powerful, and it will trap you in a world of its own making with the sole purpose of defeating your mind. If you're not careful, you can remain trapped within it forever." He shivered with memories of his own trial.

"Each of our homes still has tiny pocket of wild magic left" North concluded. If we were ever to be defeated or lose our powers entirely, that is where our buildings would disappear to – along with everything in it. It must be in there where each of the items are hidden. Four pockets of magic for four seasons. I'd bet my beard that means there are four gems and four key fragments too."

"So wait – there's one here? One of the hiding places is here?!" Merida exclaimed in realisation.

"Da" North replied, with a single nod of his head.

"Well, let's get to it then! Times a wasitin'!" Jack quipped, swinging his staff over his shoulder.

"Alright then, follow me" said North turning and leading them out into a nearby hallway.

As Seasons and Guardians alike trailed out after him, North's elves began to drift out through their little secret holes and tunnels, most likely to see if they could steal any food from the kitchens now the show was over. No one noticed the one elf who remained under a table, its glowing green eyes following the group as they left the room…

* * *

**Author's Note – Apologies in advance! I hope this wasn't too complicated and such :S Also I'm not sure if Jack's comment about Rapunzel's intelligence came across the right way – it was meant to be an admiring note to also point out that she is intelligent rather than just 'a pretty face'. She charted constellations and plays chess in her movie for goodness sake! I'm worried it came off as a bit condescending though – thoughts?**

ALSO PLEASE NOTE - I have now changed this fanfic from a K rating to a T as there will be some violence and romance in future chapters.


	12. Chapter 12

North led the group through a long corridor that ended at a dead end.

"It may be best for you to stay here" he addressed the other Guardians. "Is quite cramped down there from what I remember."

"Err…down where exactly?" Merida said leaning round Jack to get a better look.

Instead of replying, North placed his hand on the blank wall before him, and began speaking in Russian.

Меня зовут Николай St Нортх, Хранителем дивиться. Это мой дом. Это мой тест

_(My name is Nicholas St North, Guardian of wonder. This is my home. This is my test.)_

The wall slid back to reveal a spiral staircase leading down into darkness, lit only by flaming torches hung on the wall.

"….Oh." Merida lifted both eyebrows in slight surprise.

"Yeah, you better stay here too bud" Hiccup said, scratching Toothless behind the ear. "If North thinks it's too cramped for Toothiana, then no offense, but there's no way you'll fit."

Toothless gave a disappointed whine, but sat down to wait for their return.

North began to lead the way, followed by Jack, Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel, who was bringing up the rear so the others wouldn't accidentally trip over her hair.

Once they were through the doorway the found themselves in what can only be described as a stone cyclinder, with a vertical drop in the middle. The staircase wound its way tightly down the wall, and with no banister on the inner edge they tried to remain as close to that wall as possible.

The large gap of inky blackness in the center was rather intimidating and as they descended they had plenty of time to gaze below and comprehend just how much of a drop there was between them and the bottom.

"Sheesh, it's so stuffy in here…" Jack complained.

"There is no fresh air" North explained. "Whole room is sealed to prevent wild magic escaping. No one can use any means of magical transportation within chamber – so no flying, no teleporting."

"No flying? Well that's just great!" Jack replied sarcastically. "Guess that cuts out our shortcut down and up again eh Hiccup?" he called over his shoulder.

They were about half way down, when it felt to Hiccup that almost the second he had decided that 'yep – he _really _wouldn't like to fall down this particular black hole' that he felt his foot miss a step – and he stumbled.

In an automatic effort to avoid tumbling into Merida and causing her to fall into the others like a domino effect, he attempted to swivel his body and fall sideways – forgetting that there was no handrail on his left, only darkness and an extremely steep drop to a hard stone floor.

Rapunzel watched in horror as she saw the moment unfold before her. The others heard her shriek and Jack's heart nearly stopped. They turned to spot Hiccup as he toppled over the edge, their blood running cold.

If Merida hadn't known better she would have thought Jack had frozen her to the steps. Only her arms could move and they had reached out for Hiccup, but he was too far away. What should she do?! What _could_ she do?! Oh god Hiccup! No!

To Hiccup, everything felt like it was going in slow motion. As he felt his body go over the edge, he caught Merida's eye and watched as they widened in horror. Her hands reached for him automatically but it was too late….he was falling. As he sank further away from her into the gloom, he couldn't take his eyes off her out stretched hand. How he wished he could have held her hand…

Suddenly there was a flash of light and a sound like a whipcrack and Hiccup's descent came to a jolting stop.

He looked around in a daze and suddenly noticed that he was swinging slightly. He glanced at his waist to find a glowing golden rope of hair wrapped tightly around it.

Rapunzel had flung out her hair so fast no one had spotted her do it, and she was now holding him up with her feet braced on the steps. But without something to wrap her hair over to help take his weight and use like a pulley, she was straining to hold him up by herself and was being pulled slowly to the edge. "Jack!" she called out in panic.

He snapped into action. "Merida, help Punz hold him!" he shouted, before spinning to face North. "Sorry big guy, looks like we're taking a short cut after all!"

North barely had time to register what he'd said before Jack coated the stairway in front of them in ice and made it into a huge slide! He pushed North forward onto it and flung himself on behind him. Making sure to raise the edge of the newly formed 'slide' so they wouldn't fly off the side and end up in the same situation as Hiccup, the ride would have almost been fun if it wasn't for the situation they were in.

As North landed heavily at the bottom, Jack jumped lightly over him and called up to the girls.

"It's ok we're at the bottom – try to lower him down and we'll catch him if he falls!"

"Your confidence is inspiring!" Hiccup called out sarcastically, trying to cover his nerves at his predicament. He could feel the hair around his waist slowly slipping, and he tried to wrap his arms around it so he could hold on if it came loose.

Jack spotted this as he peered up into the gloom.

"He's coming loose! Can you lower him any faster?"

"Tell yer what, why don't YOU come up here and lower him, and WE'LL stand down there and shout" Merida said angrily, puffing with the effort of holding Hiccup's weight and that of all Rapunzel's hair as they slowly fed more of it over the edge.

Slowly but surely Hiccup got closer and closer to the ground, until finally –

"I'm ok! I'm alright! You can let go!" Hiccup called up, letting go of the hair and dropping the last few feet to the floor.

Merida and Rapunzel collapsed on the steps with relief and exhaustion.

"That was amazing Punz" Merida said to her as she got her breath back. "How on earth did you react so quickly?"

"Just instinct I guess" Rapunzel shrugged, blushing faintly at the praise. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you though Merida, I'd never have been strong enough. If you hadn't helped me I'd have fallen over the edge! So thank you" she smiled in gratitude.

Merida grinned back, and took Rapunzel's hand to help her up. "Right, let's go try Jack's slide and get off this infernal staircase"

Upon landing at the bottom Rapunzel ran over to Hiccup and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're ok!" she cried, giving him a quick hug.

"Only thanks to you two!" he said smiling gratefully and looked over her shoulder to Merida who was walking towards him. "Thanks for helping to hold me up Merida I –"

She punched him hard on the arm.

"OWW! Why would you do that?!"

"Fer scaring me! Us! Fer scaring us! Yer do have two feet don't'cha?"

"Err…yes" he said gingerly rubbing his arm and staring at her with an odd look on his face.

"Well use them and stop tripping over nothing you clumsy oaf!" she stomped over to stand a few feet away, crossing her arms and looking determinedly away from him. She glanced back. "What are you looking at me like that fer?!

"Nothing, nothing…" Hiccup said hurriedly, not wanting to get hit again. "You just reminded me of someone for a second there, that's all…"

"You did cause quite a scare Hiccup" North admonished gently. "Things will only get more dangerous from here, so be careful yes?"

"Ok North…" Hiccup said feeling a little embarrassed at the panic he'd caused. "Sorry guys."

"Heh, don't worry about it!" Jack said cheerfully. "We got down quicker this way at least! Speaking of which…" he swung his staff in a wide arc towards the staircase and they watched as the icy slide melted away. "Slides are fun for coming down but they make it a lot harder when you want to go back up again." He winked at Punz.

She blushed slightly then finally took a moment to look around the room they were in.

It was empty. Circular, cramped and empty! But…

"Hey North, there's nothing down here" Jack said slightly perturbed, swinging his staff over his shoulder.

"Surely we didn't go through all _that_ fer nothing?" Merida said, jerking her head towards Hiccup.

"Hey, I'm sure he wouldn't have brought us down if there was nothing here, right North? North?" Hiccup looked at North who wasn't responding to them. They followed his eyeline and found he was staring at Rapunzel who was staring at…the wall.

She was edging closer to it, eyes fixated in a particular spot. As she neared, her hand reached out and she gently touched it. "It's here" she breathed.

"Wait – what?" Jack said in confusion. "What's there Punz, you ok?"

"This is your fault Jack" Merida said turning on him.

"Wha?!"

"She's obviously banged her head coming down on that slide of yours an' got concussion!"

"Actually" North interrupted them before they could start arguing. "She can see the door. That is the door to where the wild magic is – but it appears only Rapunzel and I can see it…curious."

The light of understanding lit up Hiccup's eyes. "The platform!" he exclaimed. "When we found the one that felt right, remember? Punz stood on North's symbol!"

Rapunzel looked around at them nervously. "Should I – go in then?"

"You are the only one who can" North said gently. "This time the test is for Seasons, not Guardians, and the others can't see it"

She took a deep breath before nodding determinedly. Spinning back to face the door, she grabbed the invisible handle and pulled.

Nothing happened.

She frowned slightly and pulled again. "Um...maybe it's stuck?" She looked at North imploringly.

"Is strange" North said, eyebrows frowning in confusion. He walked forward to lay his hand on the door. "Door should react to your thoughts and feelings, your presence and memories. It recognises you as a whole being and judges if you are worthy to enter."

"Oh.." Rapunzel said softly, looking to floor in something like – shame? "It – it needs your memories? All of them?"

"Da – why?" North looked down at her.

She slowly reached into her satchel and withdrew the memory box Tooth had given her.

"I – I never opened it." She admitted softly.

"What?!" Jack exclaimed. He couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want their memories.

"But Rapunzel –" Merida started in confusion.

"They're really important though!" Hiccup joined in.

"The Seasons cannot be complete unless you yourself are complete!" North was saying gravely.

Rapunzel began to back away from their earnest talking, looking around in shame and trying to not make eye contact.

"Why Punz?"

"Why not?"

"Why?"

"I JUST CAN'T!" she shouted at them, near tears. She span on her heel and sprinted back up the stairs.

"Rapunzel, wait!" Merida called. She started forward but Jack had already gone, and North laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Wait – let Jack talk to her." He said softly. "He, more than most, truly treasures his memories, and should be able to help her see how important they are – no matter how painful."

Jack ran up the stairs after Rapunzel and out into the hallway – his feet had been moving before he's had time to even register what he was doing. The other Guardians had obviously left a while ago, and he flew past Toothless who was sitting to one side staring in the direction Rapunzel had obviously just gone.

Unfortunately, Jack wasn't as fast at running as he liked to think (being used to flying everywhere normally) and it was only by following the long trail of hair that he managed not to lose her.

"How does she run so fast with all that hair?!" He thought to himself in amazement. But his dominating emotion was that of concern. He couldn't forget the look on her face when they were pressing her for answers – she looked so desperately scared. But why?

He turned a corner to find himself at two double doors that were thrown open and lead to an outside balcony. The artic air blowing in refreshed him, and he hopped outside to follow the hair that was whipping up onto the rooftop.

"That girl can climb!" he thought, impressed. He however, didn't need to. Now he had wasn't restricted by the magic-restricting chamber he could fly.

Shooting up onto the roof he came to a sudden stop when he realised his pursuit was at an end. Rapunzel was sitting on the edge, feet dangling over the side and the memory box on her lap. She was staring out at the surrounding landscape.

"I just – needed some fresh air." She began explaining softly, without turning to look at him.

He floated down to sit next to her, one foot propped on the edge as the other swung over the side. He planted his staff between his legs and leaned on it, joining her in staring out at the horizon.

"I've always hated being in cramped spaces." She continued. "I mean, I'm ok at first, but after a while – I start to feel I'll never get out. Like I'm trapped you know?" she finally looked at him.

"Jack, what do I do?"

He met her gaze and reached out to gently take one of her hands.

"What are you afraid of Punz?"

She sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. I just feel that there is something really awful I'm trying not to remember. I know that's silly, but it's just a feeling." Jack continued to look at her, so she sighed and tried to explain better.

"When I woke up, I was lying on the grass in a hidden cove, with this huge tower beside me. I found a way in and at the top…" she hesitated.

"At the top, there was this room. It was night time so the whole place was dark and I couldn't see much, except this small area of the floor where the moonlight was shining in. And it's what I saw there that scared me – that still scares me."

She twisted her hair between her hands, in an obvious display of tension. "At first I noticed this mirror – it was broken, shattered and it was catching the light from the moon. Then I noticed one of them was stained red – except it wasn't a mirror, it was a knife. And the red on the knife was blood.

As my eyes took adjusted to the dark I began to notice that the blood was splattered all over the floor, leading over to the side where most of the shattered mirror was – and then I noticed the hair." She whispered, tugging at her own hair almost fearfully.

"There was so much of it Jack – just lying there. It was brown though so nothing to do with me I had thought at the time, but now…." She gazed at the box in her hands with the picture of a short haired brunette. "What if it's better not to know?"

Jack thought about that for a second before replying. "When I got my memories back, I found out I had died saving my sister. Yes, it was sad, as I now knew I had lost a family and a future that day, but that wasn't what I focused on.

I focused on the fact that I _saved_ her. After all isn't that the most important thing? All of us, to become a Guardian we must have done something good and right in our life – don't you want to find out what that was? Because of me, she went on to have a life, a future, and maybe even a family. I'd die for her again in a flash every time. Can't you imagine anyone you would do that for?"

Rapunzel gazed into his azure blue eyes before answering softly. "Yes…" she blushed and dropped her eyes to his chest breaking their eye contact.

"It's true, they might be painful, but they are a part of you. And…" he hesitated. "any part of you is truly special Punzie…Rapunzel." He picked up the box from her lap and placed it in her hand.

"I'll be right here with you, ok?" he smiled at her encouragingly. "And if it's really bad you can push me off the roof in revenge"

"Jack!" she giggled, rolling her eyes.

She looked down at the box in her hand before taking a deep breath. She opened it.

* * *

**Author's note - Have made a small edit since I uploaded this - have now added in a little more speech between Rapunzel and Jack where she talks about what she found in the tower.**


	13. Chapter 13

_She looked down at the box in her hand before taking a deep breath. She opened it…_

Images; fragments of a forgotten past flashed before her eyes. A tower, a mother, dreams of floating lights, pascal, painting, cooking, cleaning, singing, glowing, ruffians, frying pans, a satchel, a tiara, the ugly duckling, a mosaic, lanterns, Eugene….

The frantic images slowed and began to lengthen. Sound filtered in. She was on the stairway outside her bedroom. Her "Mother" had reached for her hair. No! Never again! She pushed her away, causing Gothel to fall against and smash the mirror.

Eugene was in trouble! She had to help him, she had to get away from this vile woman. This woman, whom she had called mother, had kidnapped her and kept her away from her real family her entire life, just so she could be forever young.

Rapunzel re-lived the moment as she turned away from Gothel in disgust, meaning to climb down from that tower and never return. She didn't hear the woman's threat. She didn't see the frying pan. She felt it though. Everything went black.

She was lying on the floor. Her head was throbbing. Shackles and chains lay next to her, temporarily forgotten.

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

She slowly looked up. Gothel had left her for the moment, assuming her out of action, and had thrown her hair out the window for Eugene. Wait – Eugene! He was here! He was climbing up! But wait –

Gothel lurked in the shadows by the window waiting for him to reach the top. Rapunzel's eyed widened as she spotted the knife clasped in her bony fingers. She was going to kill him!

Rapunzel scrambled to her feet, ignoring her throbbing head and flung herself at the older woman. Gothel, who had assumed Rapunzel to still be unconscious was taken by surprise and span round to meet her.

A gasp. A ripping sound. An ice cold blade.

Rapunzel fell to the floor amongst the remains of shattered mirror, clutching her stomach.

"Stupid girl!" Gothel spat at her. "You have always been such a burden Rapunzel - if it wasn't for your hair keeping me alive I'd have abandoned you years ago! Now hurry up and heal yourself whilst I deal with our little problem."

As Gothel turned back to the window, bloodied knife clutched in hand, Rapunzel could hear the sound of Eugene grunting as he climbed – he was almost to the top.

Too weak to stand or call out above a whisper, she wouldn't reach him in time. She spotted a shard of mirror.

"_If it wasn't for your hair keeping me alive…"_

Eugene's hand grasped the windowsill.

As a final desperate act she reached out and grasped the mirror, ignoring the way it sliced into her hand. Using the last of her strength, she pulled her hair into a pony tail – and sliced it all off.

As she dropped the mirror to the floor it tinkled and chimed against the tiles. She barely registered Gothel's shriek of horror and following screams – everything was starting to sound muffled and she was struggling to focus. Her hair was turning brown. At least she thought it was. It might have been her eyesight going dark.

By this time Eugene had pulled himself up. Seeing Gothel make a lunge at Rapunzel he pulled her back by the cloak and pushed her to the other side of the room, moving to stand between them protectively.

Pascal crawled over to her and climbed onto her shoulder, nuzzling into her neck. She barely had the energy to lift her head and gently stroke his back to try and comfort him.

Gothel turned from them all and clawed at her face as she aged rapidly; screaming in agony and panic before suddenly – silence. The cloak crumbled to the floor, emitting a cloud of dust.

Rapunzel felt herself being picked up and carried. "Hold on blondie, I'm here, I'm here" he was saying. Eugene was there. She sighed happily.

He had found the hidden trapdoor that Gothel had left open, and carried her down the steps. Lying her down gently for a brief moment to kick open the door at the bottom and wrench down the vines in their way, he picked her up again and carried her out into the sunshine.

"Sunshine…it's so beautiful. Look at the flowers. Why did I wait so long to see flowers up close?" she thought.

Through her clouded thoughts she suddenly realised that Eugene was carrying her around the tower to Maximus. He was planning on getting her back to the castle. But she knew there was no point.

"Eugene…"

"It's ok Rapunzel, I'm getting you to help, you're going to be fine, you're going to be –"

"EUGENE!" she used the last of her strength to get his attention. "There's no point. It's too late" she whispered.

As if his body accepted what his mind could not, Eugene fell to his knees and he laid her on the grass amongst the flowers, cradling her upper body in his arms.

"But Rapunzel, you have to live on, you have to" he begged with a crack in his voice. "You have a family waiting for you, look…" he grabbed his satchel off Maximus who had come over to them, and laid it over her.

"Max found this at the side of the lake when he went looking for you before rescuing me. You know the tiara I had in it? It was yours Rapunzel. I figured it out. You are the lost princess. You have a real family who love you and me – I love you. You were my new dream." He choked, tears running down his face.

"And you were mine" Rapunzel cried softly, reaching up to touch his cheek. Suddenly she felt Eugene being pulled away from her and her head fell back on the grass. Everything started to go black.

"Caught you Rider! You think we wouldn't be able to follow you to this place?"

"No please – you don't understand – you have to help her! Rapunzel! Rapunzel!"

Everything faded to black and silence.

* * *

Rapunzel opened her eyes in shock, and found herself clutching at her heart as if it were breaking. "No…" she felt as if her very breath had been taken away from her.

"What is it? What's wrong?!" Jack asked, worried to see her so upset.

"I was the lost princess of Corona. Flynn Rider - Eugene – he rescued me. And then I saved him from Gothel. But he was arrested by the guards – oh no what if he was hanged?! What if they killed him because of me?!" She rambled, her tone climbing higher as she grew more hysterical.

"Jack I loved him and he died because of me!" she burst into tears. He went to hold her but she pulled away and scrambled to her feet. "How could I forget him Jack?!" she cried, almost accusingly.

"How can I be with you, laughing and smiling, when he died for me?"

"Rapunzel – Punz…" he held out both hands getting up slowly, as one would when trying not to spook a distraught animal.

"No Jack, I can't – I just can't." and before he could stop her she summoned a rampion flower, shrunk until she could hide in its petals and then they both disappeared with an audible 'pop'.

Hiccup and Merida were talking to Bunny in the Globe room when Jack rushed in distraught.

Hiccup took one look at Jack's face before asking "What happened? What's wrong?"

Jack explained the situation and what Rapunzel had said. They stood there in silence for a moment, at a loss of what to do.

"I didn't even know she could vanish like that! Who knows where she's gone!" Jack said anxiously.

"It's an ability sorta like my tunnels" Bunny said fretfully. "She can vanish into the ground and re-appear where she likes as long as it's in a place she has been before."

"I do the same with me wisps" Merida added with a frown.

"Well what are we gonna do?" Hiccup agonized.

"Bunny, you said you've known her for years! Surely you should know where she's gone?!" Jack said accusingly.

"I'm not her ruddy nanny mate, besides I left her with YOU when you got her into this mess, what are YOU doing to fix it?!"

"Oi! SHUT IT!" Merida yelled. They all froze and looked at her. "Och, men! Stop getting yer knickers in a twist, I'll go find her. Just hold tight ok?" and she promptly vanished in a burst of blue flames, causing Hiccup to yelp and fall over.

Jack looked down at him. "You really have a problem with the whole 'standing on two legs thing' don't you?"

* * *

**Author's Note – My shortest Chapter for a while but I figured you'd forgive me since it comes straight on the heels of the chapter before it. **

**After you've done hating me for what I've done to Rapunzel though. I'm sorry Punzie, forgive meeeee! I'd love to know what your guys thoughts on this chapter are though?**

**Also, it really is a wonder Hiccup hasn't caused more damage to himself when he is that clumsy :P**


	14. Chapter 14

After Merida had vanished and Hiccup had picked himself back off the floor, Jack and Bunny exchanged a few more heated words before the latter threw his hands up in frustration and left the room. The second he went out the door though, Jack's face fell and he kicked at the floor dejectedly.

"Wow, you really like her don't you?" Hiccup said watching him curiously.

Jack accidentally hit himself in the forehead with his staff. "What – who do you - I – I don't…." Jack sighed. "What if Bunny's right Hiccup?"

"Right about what" Hiccup scratched his neck in confusion.

"That it's my fault. I convinced her to look at her memories after all, and I could _see _she didn't want to…"

"Hey, look, were you the one who kidnapped her from her family?"

"No."

"Did you drag off her boyfriend to be hanged?"

"No" Jack flinched, though if this was at the word 'boyfriend' or 'hanged' was anyone's guess.

"Then stop blaming yourself! We all know she had to see her memories at some point or we're never going to get into North's Guardian Test. It was painful, it was inevitable, but it was _Not. Your. Fault._"

Jack looked at Hiccup gratefully. "Thanks…I guess I just needed to hear that from someone else. 300 years of being a bit of a loner, I guess I get a bit stuck in my own head sometimes."

"Only 300? Pfft, try 1020 odd!" Hiccup exclaimed.

Jack's mouth fell open.

"What?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"You're….you're _ancient!"_

"Hey, you're not exactly a spring chicken yourself there gramps" Hiccup threw back at him, eyeing Jack's white hair mockingly.

"Well yeah but…over a 1000 years old? Seriously?"

"When did you think Vikings existed exactly? During the swinging 60's? I was born in the 10th century – Merida too I think from what I can figure out. In fact, we're probably only slightly younger than North and the others in that respect."

"Wow – really? That's a pretty long time to be invisible…at least you had Toothless I guess, but no wonder Merida wants to shoot things all the time." They both winced.

As if she'd heard them one of her wisps suddenly popped up in front of their faces.

"GAH!" They both screeched like frightened children and jumped back.

They looked at one another and Jack held up a warning finger.

"We never speak a word to her of this."

* * *

Merida followed the trail of wisps that were leading her through the trees. Following her desire to find Rapunzel, her blue fire had originally deposited her in the closest place it could manage before she was left to do the rest of the journey on foot. It was a forest she had once travelled through many years ago – she remembered there had been a beautiful city near by in the middle of a lake.

A few diversions and sidetracks aside, she was now hopefully a lot nearer to where Rapunzel should be – after a few times of going round in circles she had given her wisps a stern talking to and made it clear the situation was too serious to be sending her on a wild goose chase.

Suddenly she noticed that the blue spirits seemed to disappear amongst some ivy leaves that were growing up an enormous wall of rock. Stretching her hand out curiously she reached out to touch it – only to find that her hand went right through!

There was a hidden passage behind the curtain of leaves; pushing them out of the way, she ducked her head underneath and went through. Coming out the other end of the short tunnel, she found herself in a beautiful hidden valley.

Vertical valley walls surrounded her on all sides, and the grass was simply _covered _in flowers. It was like a carpet! Blues and yellows, pinks and purples; just colour everywhere!

As she gazed around the area in wonder, her eyes suddenly caught a flash of gold. She peered closer, and discovered Rapunzel was sitting by what looked like a small pond, talking to something in her hand.

Walking over softly, being careful not to startle her, and sat down beside her.

"Yer a tricky girl to find, d'yer know?" she teased lightly.

The golden haired girl placed the pink water lilly she had been conversing with back in the water and sighed.

"I've made a mess of things, haven't I?" she said dejectedly.

"Nah! I mean, we've had to put the search for the keys on hold, Bunny nearly throttled Jack, and Frosty is beating himself up about it coz he thinks he's to blame – but apart from that, everything's just grand!" Merida replied sardonically. She softened the admonishment with a gentle smile though and ducked her head to try and catch Rapunzel's downcast eyes.

"Punz – why don't you tell me what's wrong? You know, I learnt the hard way you can't outrun your fears – not for long. You have to face them, and acknowledge what yer feeling."

Rapunzel looked up at her, blinking the tears from her eyes. "You did? What happened?"

It was Merida's turn to look uncomfortable. "Well…" she pulled some grass out of the ground distractedly, before her face set in a determined look.

"Jack said you were a princess? This may surprise ye to know, but when I was alive – I was a princess too." She admitted. Rapunzel blinked in surprise.

"Aye, I know, I'm not exactly yer typical princess material" Merida grinned wryly.

"A-Actually, I was thinking that you would have been a wonderful princess. I bet you would have made a great queen too."

"You do? Oh…." Merida fidgeted awkwardly, not sure how to handle the praise. "Well, at the time it was the last thing I wanted. So many rules and responsibilities. Och, all I wanted was me freedom! But me mum…she was trying to teach me fer me own good, but I just couldnae see it.

When she tried to plan an arranged marriage it was the last straw and I….well let's just say I did something pretty bad. I refused for so long to take the blame for me actions, but it was only by accepting it, and repairing the bond I had broken with those I loved that I fixed things.

Me mum and me were closer than ever and it was agreed by all the clans that the first borns should be free to choose who they would marry in their own time."

"So everything worked out?" Rapunzel said hopefully.

"Aye…everything was grand" Merida said with a soft smile. "But of course…" she gestured down at her spiritual body "…we both know it didnae stay that way forever."

"It was aboot a year after the new marriage arrangements had been made with the lords. Ter give us a chance to get ter know each other better, it was decided we would make an effort to visit each of the clans so I could spend time with others me own age." Merida picked up a stick and began poking it into the ground to keep her hands occupied.

"Dad stayed back at Castle Dun Broch to take care of important business, so when we went to visit Lord MacGuffin mum brought the triplets with us to keep them out of his hair. Wee little devils those boys were" she grinned fondly.

"Mum used to get awful sea sickness, so we decided to go by land, even though it took a bit longer. She knew of a woodman's cottage half way who had offered to let us spend the night if we needed to rest. So we stayed over, whilst the woodman and the guards slept in the barn outside, expecting to continue our journey in the morning" Her face fell somber.

"That night, there was a lightning storm. So strange it was, coz there was no rain. Just lightning and thunder. So huge it seemed to rattle the sky and turn night into day time with every flash. I remember the cottage was built underneath this huge tree…I had planned on getting up early the next day to climb it before we set out again.

Anyway, it must have been struck by lightning and in turn set fire to the house, because next thing I knew, I was waking up to a room full of smoke. I remember…it was so hot. And the sound of the fire…it was like it was roaring at me. MOVE! It seemed ter say. MOVE, are yer blind?!

I leaped out of bed and shook mum awake. The triplets were sleeping on a mattress on the floor, so we yelled to wake them and rushed them outside. When we got out the door I looked to see that the guards and woodman had escaped from the barn and were trying to put out the blaze by running to the well fer buckets of water.

Suddenly, I heard a cry. I looked around, and I noticed that Hubert wasn't there. One of the boys was still inside! I pushed mum, Harris and Hamish towards the guards and told them I'd be right with them before flying back inside.

God…the heat. It was incredible. Like a physical wall. But I pushed through it and back into the bedroom, dodging the bits of flaming ceiling that were falling in. I found Hubert hiding under the bed and I grabbed him. But as I turned to the door, a huge beam fell down blocking my way.

As I choked on the smoke I spotted a tiny window in the room – it was the only one but it was just big enough to fit Hubert through. I kissed him on the forehead and pushed him out, telling him to run and find mum. I remember he was crying…I'd never seen him cry before." She roused herself from her morbid thoughts.

"But you know what? I hope that wee scamp went on to cry even more. As the best man at his brother's weddings. At his own wedding. When he had his first child. When he held his first grandchild. I hope he had a whole life full of tears, and laughter and love. And if he did it was because I saved him, and no one can ever take tha' away from me." She turned to face the other girl, her head raised in what Rapunzel could only describe as a regal manner – proud and poised. It was inspiring.

"I didnae want to be a Season until I got me memories back. Then, even though they brought heart ache and pain too, they reminded me who I truly was and gave me back me purpose. Courage isn't about not being scared, it's about facing yer fears _despite _them."

"You're so brave" Rapunzel noted in a whistful voice. She paused for a moment, looking sad and thoughtful. "You must have been so happy to be back on good terms with your mother. Truthfully – I was so awful to Jack back there, but I never meant to be. It's just…"

Merida gave her an encouraging look, and inspired by the story the other girl had just shared, Rapunzel took a deep breath and let her thoughts come flooding out.

"The reason I took it so hard was because I didn't get to save anyone. Not really. I'm the one to blame for Eugene's death – I know I am, and there's no denying it. He rescued me from a life of imprisonment, and even though I died to try and save him in return - it wasn't enough." She turned her head and pointed out an old ruin to Merida which she hadn't noticed before; it was so covered in flowers and vines, and was really no more than a low circle of crumbling rocks.

"I lay there – right over there – dying in his arms when the guards found him. He was a good man, with a good heart, but he was also a wanted thief. He had broken out of jail to come save me, but the guards had followed. And my last memory of him will always be of him being torn away from me and carted off to be hanged. I just don't think I can ever forgive myself, because if it weren't for me, he would never have been caught in the first place and he could have gone on to have a happy, normal life. I could have coped if only he had survived."

She looked Merida straight in the eye, tears threatening to spill. "I loved him Merida. I know I did, I really loved him. So why is it that all I can think about is the way Jack looks at me, or the way it felt when he held my hand?! Eugene hasn't been alive for over 300 years but I still feel like I'm being unfaithful in some way - I'm such an awful person!" She hid her face in her hands.

Merida had never been good with talk of romance, so the direction the conversation had turned made her extremely uncomfortable. Still, she was glad Rapunzel was finally talking about her feelings and they had got to the bottom of everything that was haunting her.

She stood up and held out her hand to Rapunzel. "Come with me. I need to show yer something."

* * *

Merida and Rapunzel approached the town on the outskirts of the forest. The telephone poles, cars and shops all screamed modern day, but as they walked through the town they noticed that the buildings got older and the streets got narrower. The town had obviously grown outwards over the years.

Suddenly, they came out the other side of the town to find it was on the edge of a huge lake. And in the centre of that lake with a bridge still attaching it the mainland was…

"Corona!" Rapunzel breathed in awe. "Oh my goodness, it looks just like it did when Eugene brought me here…"

"It's been kept more as a tourist attraction these days rather than being actually lived in" Merida said about the island town. "Most of the residents live in the modern part back on the mainland. But, that wasn't what I wanted to show you – we're going to the oldest library in the town."

"A library?"

"You'll see."

As they walked into the building, they took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the gloom. It was empty – most people were probably outside enjoying the blazing sunshine.

"Me wisps led me here first before they would take me to you." She said. "Ruddy frustrating they are, but they do know what's best after all."

Merida led them to a huge pile of books on a table hidden away at the back. "You read through all these?" asked Rapunzel.

"Well, I might have got a little help" Merida replied sheepishly and Rapunzel's eyes widened as Hiccup stepped out from behind a shelf. He held a book in his hands and he held it out to her. "You might want to read this" he said gently.

The book was old – very old. She got the idea that if they hadn't been invisible, they probably wouldn't have been able to access it. Reading the page Hiccup had opened it to, she discovered it was a list of obituaries from the town dated just over 200 years ago.

Her heart constricted and she looked at them, distraught. "Just read it" Hiccup encouraged her.

She scanned down until she found the name she was expecting – Eugene Fitzherbert. Wait. She paused a moment, thinking. Didn't everyone else only know him as Flynn Rider? She continued to read.

**Eugene Fitzherbert - Captain of the Guards.**

**Passed away peacefully on 9****th**** September 1797 aged 84. Survived by his wife of 52 years Clara Fitzherbert (aged 80), their two children Flynn (aged 48) and Punzel (aged 51) and 5 grandchildren. He was much loved and will be sorely missed. Entering the employment of the palace guards at the age of 22, Eugene was pardoned for previous misdemeanours when he uncovered the mystery of the lost princess and defeated the one responsible for her capture. Though he went on to rise through the ranks with a highly successful career, and was awarded numerous medals for protecting the city and its people, he maintained that his life's biggest regret was not being able to save her. Known as a prankster until his dying day, his friends and family will miss the sound of his laughter. **

"Oh Eugene…" Rapunzel let out a quiet sob, but she was smiling through he tears. "He lived! Oh he lived a wonderful life!" she exclaimed happily wiping her cheeks. "Thank you so much! You don't know what this means to me!" she said flinging her arms around them both.

She heard a cough behind her and she turned around to see Jack emerge from behind a bookcase looking at her nervously. "So…does this mean we're – you're - ok now?"

Before anyone knew what had happened she ran to him and flung her arms around his waist in a tight hug. "Yes - yes we're ok." She looked up at him still not letting go. "Oh Jack I'm so sorry for how I treated you, I was just upset and shocked, I didn't know what I was doing…"

His shocked expression from the sudden bodily contact softened as he looked down at her. "That's alright Punz." He held his hand to her cheek and used his thumb to wipe away the remaining tear stains. He paused just holding her face in his hand for a moment as they looked into each others eyes… he leaned down…. and lightly bit her on the nose.

"Eeep!" she shrieked jumping backwards.

"Did no one warn you about the whole 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose' thing?" He joked winking at her and leaning on his staff.

"Argh, Jaaaack!" she complained hitting him on the arm.

"So seriously - Fitzherbert?" he continued to tease. "Really? So if you had got married you would have been Rapunzel Fitzherbert? Like your name needs to get any more complicated!"

"Oh? So you think a shorter surname would suit her better then Jack?" Merida chimed in innocently. "Something short and punchy perhaps? Maybe something like Fr-"

"Ok let's get moving shall we?" Jack interrupted her hurriedly. "Didn't we have a test or something we're supposed to be doing?"

"Oh – right" Rapunzel said looking a bit guilty. "I guess we should get going then" she said walking to the library door with Merida. Suddenly she halted just before stepping out into the sunlight. "Wait. How did you guys get here?"

"Well I can move about pretty instantly as long as I can see my destination or have been there before" said Merida, demonstrating by disappearing in a burst of blue flame to across the street and back again. "After I got here I sent the other two a message via a wisp to come meet me, but instead of asking North for one of his portals, these two daft buggers decided to come the looong way round" Merida said jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the boys.

"Hey!" they said simultaneously.

"Give us some slack, it's not our fault we can't 'poof' from place to place like you two!" Jack said indignantly. "We just left as soon as we got your message without thinking about it…"

"Besides, where's the fun in getting there instantly?" said Hiccup "The flying is the fun part!"

Rapunzel and Merida gave each other a mischievous sideways look. "What do you think Punz?" Merida said with a cheeky grin. "Short route back or catch a ride with these two to keep them company?"

"Well I suppose we _could_." Rapunzel said holding a mockingly thoughtful finger to her chin. "I guess they _did_ read through all those books for me."

"Yeah and it was no skate in the park I can tell you!" Jack muttered.

"Well I guess it's settled then!" Merida said cheerfully. "Jack you'll have to carry one of us!"

"Wait- what?!"

"Well how else are we gonna fly back with ye, genius?" Merida said mockingly. "We can't all fit on Toothless!"

"Er, guys?" Hiccup interjected "We might have an issue with Rapunzel's hair in the air – it will cause a massive amount of drag no matter who she goes with – sorry Punz….punz?" The others looked around to notice that she had vanished!

"Ahem" they heard the sound of a throat being cleared and looked down.

"Little help?" She grinned, waving cheekily up at them from her new shrunken height.

"….Never mind." Hiccup finished.

Jack leant over and gently picked her up, with a look of amazement and curiosity on his face. He held her in front of the others with his palm out flat but his thumb sticking upwards so she would have a flat platform to stand on and his thumb to hold on to for stability.

"Awww! You're so wee!" Merida cooed. "You're like a little Thumbzelina!"

"I'd be worried you'd get blown away!" Hiccup admitted.

"I'll be fine, don't worry!" she chirped. They watched her curiously as she wrapped the end of her hair around Jack's thumb…. and then turned and leaped off his hand!

He froze in shock, but before anyone could react and reach out to catch her, she had used her hair and swung back towards him, grabbed his hoodie, and pulled herself inside the large pocket on the front. She then leaned out, flicked her hair to make it come loose from his thumb and reeled it back in towards her.

"See? I'll be safe and sound in here!"

"Punz – I'm happy you can take care of yourself and everything – but don't EVER do that again" said Jack holding his hand to his heart. "If I could have died from a heart attack, I think I would have just then. Couldn't you have at least warned me, or I dunno, ASKED me to put you there?"

She just gave him a confused look. "But why?"

"Because – I – argh never mind." Jack rested his head on his staff and blew out in frustration and then looked up to find the others watching him in amusement. "What?"

"Nowt!" Merida said cheerfully and started striding off. "Well are we gonnae get back to Toothless or not?"

Jack sighed and starting walking after them.

"So Rapunzel – you're a princess huh?" Hiccup asked.

"Well yes, sort of – I never really lived as one so I don't know if it counts though."

"Pff, you weren't missing out on much" Merida scoffed.

"Yeah, life as a Chief's son was bad enough and hold up a minute what did you just say?" Hiccup looked at Merida.

"I said that being a princess was'nee all fun and games" she said pronouncing each word clearly as if he was hard of hearing.

"_You_ were a princess?!"

"Aye. And?" Merida looked at him with a questioning eyebrow.

Hiccup stood frozen for a second. He exchanged looks with Jack who looked just as flabbergasted. Then his eyes fell on her bow and arrow and he seemed to think better of whatever it was he was going to say. "Nothing! Nothing! Just – wow. Two princesses!"

"So…hang on." Jack said with a slight frown. "You're telling me that you're a princess" he looked down at Rapunzel "_you're_ a princess" he gestured to Merida with his staff "and _you're _the son of a chief?!" he pointed it now at Hiccup. They all nodded.

"Well that's just great!" he grumbled. "I guess that makes me the court jester."

"Why, who were you?" Rapunzel said in confusion not quite getting the joke.

"Nobody, Punz, I was a nobody" he sighed leaning on his staff as they reached the forest trees where Toothless was hiding.

"Awww, yer not a nobody to us laddie!" Merida said playfully punching him on the arm.

"Yeah! Besides, would you really have liked to live as a Prince?" Hiccup added.

"All those rules"

"Responsibilities"

"Curfews"

"Expectations!"

"Tight clothes!"

"You're right, you're right, it sounds awful!" Jack held his hands up in mock surrender, chuckling. "I take it all back, wow it must suck to be you" he smirked.

"We can always make you our honorary court jester if you like" Merida grinned evilly.

"I'm good, thanks." He nodded with a smirk of his own. "So…" he pointed his staff at the sky. "Shall we?

* * *

**Author's Note – ok this is probably one of the longest chapters I've written! I could have split it into two I guess, but I wanted the lighter ending to come after the emotionally heavy beginning. I hope Merida's story didn't come across as too forced, please let me know what you thought of how that was told. **

**And in case people have missed it, my plan for their timelines in this story is that Merida and Hiccup are from the 10****th**** century (Scotland and ****a North Atlantic island somewhere respectively, as Vikings were known to roam that area**). 

**Then Jack Frost and Rapunzel come from the 18****th**** century (Pennsylvania and ****Bavarian Germany respectively, where the original Rapunzel legend was set - the reason she speaks English is that she was so distraught by what she found when she woke up, that she soon left the country entirely and went to an English speaking country somewhere for a new start. Probably where she met Bunny. She goes back to her home country to visit every now and then however, hence Bunny earlier mentioning the flower fields in Germany she likes to go to...) **

**This also ties in with the legend in Chapter 1 – **

"**Two by two the moon shall choose;**

**Their former lives they then shall lose."**

**They were chosen in twos, so they came from the same time periods!**

**And a special thank you to Eva Maverx/daydreamerssmile who called Rapunzel Thumbzel in her review when mentioning her shrinking powers. I loved it and since it was perfect for the moment I had planned in this chapter I have stolen the name and stuck it in there! Thank you! ;) **


	15. Chapter 15

"WAHOOOO!" BEST-DAY-EVER!" Rapunzel shrieked with joy as they swooped up and down in the air.

She kept sticking her head out of Jack's pocket to try and see the view below, and as much as it filled Jack's heart with joy to see her having so much fun, he wished she wouldn't lean out _quite_ so far…she was going to give him a heart attack!

Merida had clung tightly to Hiccup's back when they had first set off on Toothless, because as much as she could_ ride_ pretty much anything, she had never _flown _anything before.

She quickly felt how skilled Hiccup and Toothless were however, and the smoothness of the flight allowed her to feel relaxed enough to loosen her death grip from his waist and enjoy herself – Hiccup wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

Laughing with the sheer thrill and joy of it she called forward to him "Hey Hiccup – can we go any higher?"

Smirking to himself, Hiccup thought to Toothless "_What do you say bud? Shall we give her a tour of the skies?"_

Feeling the affirmative response and Toothless' excitement in his mind, Hiccup leaned down to create a smoother streamline and shouted back to Merida "You might want to lean down – get ready!"

She had just leant over and buried her head into his back when they suddenly accelerated at an astounding rate. Shooting upwards almost vertically Toothless span, twisted, turned, and then did a final loop-de-loop.

As they levelled out, Hiccup looked over his shoulder at Merida to find her hair in an adorably tangled mess (more so than normal) but what he was captured by the most was her smile. She was absolutely beaming from ear to ear, and her eyes were lit up in joy.

"That was BRILLIANT!"

The sunlight caught her hair and Hiccup caught himself staring at her. She smiled at him and raised an enquiring eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh – nothing…" he turned back to face forward. If he told her he thought her hair looked like summer sun amongst the clouds, she would probably hit him. Or set him on fire. Or both. Toothless snickered to himself, hearing his friend's thoughts.

"Hey, wait up you lot!"

Hiccup looked to his left and watched Jack catch up to them, using his staff like a surf board! He did a flip in the air, and then floated up along side them.

"You know Hiccup, if you wanted Merida to hold onto you more, you probably could have just asked her" he smirked.

Hiccup and Merida went bright red.

"Wow, Merida, I didn't know your face could turn the same colour as your hair! Neat trick…WOAH-" he ducked to miss the arrow that flew past him.

"Just because I'm flying does'nae mean I cannae still shoot at yer!" Merida shouted. "And now yer owe me a new arrow!"

"You alright in there Punzie?" Hiccup shouted, desperate to try and change the conversation. He peered to make out the tiny girl.

"Uh huh!" she nodded back enthusiastically. Suddenly Rapunzel frowned, looking past Merida at something in the sky.

"Isn't that one of Toothiana's fairies?" she pointed.

They all turned and, sure enough, one of the colourful feathered spirits was making a beeline straight for them. Since Toothless wasn't able to stop dead in the air, they slowed their flight and came to a gentle glide, allowing it to catch up with them.

As it got nearer they could see it looked extremely distressed and it was chittering away in a desperate manner.

"Woah, hold up there little tooth, what's wrong?!" Jack asked in concern holding out his hand for the creature to land on. Instead of coming closer however it began flying off, then coming back, and then flying off again. It obviously wanted them to follow it.

"Isn't the Tooth Palace near here?" Hiccup said with a worried grimace. "Do you think something's happened?"

"Only one way to find out" Jack replied grimly.

They began to follow the fairy back to Tooth Palace. Its eyes glinted green.

* * *

As the Tooth Palace came into sight the fairy zoomed off without them and they quickly lost sight of it. They knew where they were heading now however, and they weaved in-between the structures before coming to land on one of the colourful hanging platforms.

As Hiccup and Merida dismounted, Jack carefully placed Rapunzel on the floor so she could grow to her normal size.

As they gazed around, the place seemed empty and they wouldn't have thought that anything was wrong except for the thousands of fairies who were chittering in fear and flying around in confusion.

"Tooth?!" Jack called out leaning to see if she was in the grotto below. "Anyone?!"

"Why hello again Jack."

The Seasons spun round to see Pitch emerge from the floor of the platform opposite. Before they could react, hundreds of fairies dive bombed him in a colourful blur, feathers bristling and beaks sharp.

It was no use however, because with an air of boredom Pitch merely faded away and let them pass right through him.

"Tut tut, you don't want to be put in cages again now do you?" his mocking voice scolded them, coming from the ceiling somewhere. They all span about trying to pin point his location.

"We all remember how well fighting against my nightmares went last time for you, so I'd just sit tight if I were you. Besides I'm not here for you – I'm here for a chat with my good old friend _Jack_" he said finally appearing on the platform before them with a sneer.

They group took a defensive stance and Toothless bared his teeth with a threatening growl. "I thought it would be nice Jack – this is where we first met remember? And with all the Guardians gathered at the pole that means this time we won't be interrupted."

"What do you want Pitch? We threw your ass into the pit last time, and it'll be easy enough to do again. Especially now there are more of us" Jack gestured widely with his staff at the others.

"Me?" he asked innocently. "Oh I don't want anything. Can't I just want to say hi to an old friend?"

"You're no friend of mine" Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Oh fine, well if you're going to be like that…." Pitch faded away into the floor.

"I'll just have to make some new friends…" he whispered into Rapunzel's ear brushing a piece of her hair away.

She shrieked and jumped away from him, swinging her satchel to hit him in the face. He turned into smoke and it passed through him.

"No? I'm hurt! I really think we could have had something special…" he mocked.

Jack aimed his staff at him, but before he could shoot an icy ray at his head, a flaming arrow went flying toward Pitch. At the last second he turned and caught it in his hand and vanished it in a puff of smoke.

"Oh ho! What a fiery temper! So forward when we've only just met…"

"I dunnae know what you want, but I've heard enough about ye to know yer no good." Merida scowled.

"Well that's a real shame. How about you, lizard eyes? Surely you won't judge a book by its cover?"

Hiccup placed one reassuring hand on Toothless who was growling and watching pitch warily. "No, but I don't go around making friends with known maniacs. Well – at least evil maniacs." he corrected himself. "Vikings don't count."

"But you'll make friends with dragons…surely he's far more dangerous than me?"

They spun around to find Pitch resting his hand on Toothless' back. Before any of them could react Toothless had twisted his head round and fired off a shot at him, but Pitch had already disappeared and the fire blast nearly hit a group of fairies who went skittering out of the way.

"Now now!" Pitch re-appeared on a platform above them, waving his finger from side to side in the manner one might tell off a child. "I wouldn't go firing off recklessly if I were you. Someone could get hurt."

"Easy bud" Hiccup said trying to restrain Toothless from doing something reckless. He realised that Pitch was right; the reason all the fairies were still there wasn't because Pitch didn't want them – but because he was using them as a shield. They couldn't fully fight him without risking harming any of the thousands of fairies that were flying back and forth.

"PITCH!" They turned their heads suddenly to see Tooth rocketing towards them with a few fairies in tow whom had obviously gone to fetch her. "You lay a finger on my fairies again and so help me you won't have any teeth left by the time I'm through with you!"

"Well, so much for a happy reunion" Pitch said with a smirk. "Until next time then…" and he disappeared into the shadows with a bow and an evil smirk.

"ARGH!" Tooth flew at the spot he had disappeared and hit the wall with her fist in frustration.

* * *

Back at Pitch's cave he materialized out of the gloom and stepped forward to meet Pandora.

"You know the feathery look quite suited you" he smirked sardonically.

"Oh please, rainbow colours? So tacky." Pandora sneered back. "Still, it served its purpose. It was a success I presume?"

"Oh please!" Pitch rolled his eyes. "Those four are so oblivious I don't even know why we're worried about them finding the keys in the first place. Here…" he held out his hand to Pandora.

"As requested – a flower from Spring's hair, an arrow from Summer, a dragon scale from Autumn, and of course, the splinter I still had from Winter's staff" He bared his sharpened teeth as he remembered snapping the thing in two – if only the blasted thing had stayed that way!

"Only a dragon scale?" Pandora pouted. "You couldn't have got me a piece of his clothing or something?"

"It doesn't matter which of those two I got it from – they're so interlinked the spell will work just the same. In fact, you can probably get _both _of them out of that – there's no way after spending all that time on that dragon his soul essence hasn't been absorbed by it"

"True" Pandora mused to herself. She took the items and folded them away. "Now while I'm working on those, I finally got _it _ready" she passed something back to him.

"Do be a dear and give her my regards wont you?" her eyes glittered.

* * *

**Author - I know it's bad but I LOVE writing evil Pandora - there is something about villains that is just so fun to write! It's a shame I can't have more of her in here but she needs to be mysterious and lurking in the shadows-y. Ah well, at least I get great fun with Jack and Hiccup when they're being sarcastic :P**


	16. Chapter 16

After the group had determined that Pitch definitely wasn't about to pop up from anywhere else they all gathered in the centre of the platform.

"What on earth was all that about?" Hiccup asked no one in particular.

"Beats me." Jack shrugged. "Probably just trying to get a rise out of us –you know, intimidate us and put us off looking for the keys."

"What happened here exactly?" Tooth asked curiously. "I didn't even know you lot were going to be here; when my fairies showed up at the Pole they just said Pitch and his shadows were keeping most of the others trapped in the palace."

"We came across one of your other fairies on our way back from getting Punz" Jack explained. "We followed her back here and found Pitch."

"But that's the odd thing, he wasn't _doing _anything. Not really." Rapunzel added.

"Just kept bouncing around like a ruddy jack-in-the-box" Merida grumbled.

"Hey, I'd thank you not to describe him as anything that has my name in it" Jack said a bit perturbed.

Tooth's expression remained worried. "Well, I suppose there's not much we can do about it now. At least he's gone, that's the important thing. So did you guys want to start heading back to the Pole or …..hey, Hiccup I wouldn't get so close to the edge if I were you!"

They turned to see that Hiccup had walked over to the edge and was peering over it.

"Oi!" Merida ran over to him and pulled him back roughly by the back of his shirt.

"Don't'cha even think about it! You remember the trouble we had last time? You and steep drops donnae do so well!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Hiccup said holding his hands up. "It's just…" he looked over his shoulder again. He just couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the grotto below.

"Tooth…what's down there?"

"In the grotto? Well, mainly just the mural, the pond and…oh."

"Oh? Oh what?" Jack asked.

"Hiccup, do you sense something down there?" Tooth said, ignoring the question.

"Well…it's just a feeling really. Like a..."

"A pull?" Rapunzel filled in, catching on. "Oh my goodness, Hiccup are you sensing the Guardian's Test?"

He nodded. "I think so."

"That's what it was like for me when we were at North's" she explained to the others. "I didn't notice it at first as we were too busy saving Hiccup, but the minute that was over I realised I felt something calling me over to one spot, and that's when I saw the door!"

"Well…guess there's no time like the present…" Hiccup said, failing in his attempt to sound blasé.

Tooth nodded in agreement and flew over the edge to the grotto below, whilst Hiccup and Jack turned to the girls expectedly; automatically holding out their hands to offer them a lift.

Merida and Rapunzel exchanged a look, grinned, and promptly transported themselves to the ground below.

"Come on ye slow pokes!" Merida shouted up to them.

"Forgot they could do that…" Jack mumbled, before throwing himself off the edge closely followed by Hiccup on Toothless.

As they all re-grouped around the pond, Hiccup jumped to the ground and tapped the surface of the water lightly with his foot.

"Er, Tooth? You might want to tell me where this door is because I think my 'sense' thing is a bit messed up. It's telling me it's underwater…."

Tooth flew over the pond to the mural behind it. On the left and right of the wall were two Teeth drawn in separate circles, and finally an image of one large tooth in the center being passed between Toothiana and a child. Without a word, Tooth tapped the one on the left, then on the right and finally the one in middle.

_"__My name is Toothiana, Guardian of Memories. This is my home. This is my test."_

The second she finished her sentence there was a grinding noise followed by the sound of rushing water.

The other's mouths dropped open as a small whirlpool appeared in front of them.

Landing next to Hiccup, Tooth placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder and raised her voice so she could be heard above the roar of the swirling water. "Remember, the test is meant to get inside your head and trap you there. This one is tied to me, so it is likely connected with memories. Just try to focus on your task, and - we'll be waiting for you when you get out!"

He tried to ignore the slight hesitation in her voice as she gave him two thumbs up and attempted a cheery smile.

He returned it with a weak one of his own, and turned around to look at the others. Jack, looking serious for once, gave him an encouraging nod. Rapunzel was twisting her hair nervously in her hands but conjured up a hopeful smile for him. Merida opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then clamped it shut and looked at the floor, unable to make eye contact.

He laid his hand on Toothless' head, who had come up to stand beside him. _"You ready bud?"_ The dragon growled in confirmation.

Taking a deep breath and holding his nose, Hiccup walked up to the edge – and jumped in.

Toothless sprang in after him, but suddenly – the whirlpool closed! The dragon went crashing into the water and came up spluttering, howling in confusion and desperation to reach his friend – Hiccup had been shut in there alone!

* * *

Hiccup remained for a few moments with his eyes screwed close and his breath held, when he suddenly realised that he wasn't wet. In fact, he wasn't even underwater. He slowly opened his eyes and began breathing normally again.

Until he realised where he was and started having a panic attack.

"GAHHHH!" he threw himself to the floor, clinging to it desperately.

The cause of his sudden anxiety is easily explained by the fact he was currently standing on a platform that looked like the ones from Tooth's palace – except it was made from crystal and it was upside down!

In obvious defiance of the laws of physics, Hiccup was technically standing (well – clinging) on the ceiling, with nothing but empty space below him down to a completely flat plane of crystal.

It was at this point that Hiccup also realised he was completely alone – where was Toothless?

"_Toothless? Bud, can you hear me?" _but there was no reply.

After taking a moment to calm himself he realised that he should have fallen by now if he was ever going to. He gingerly released his hold of the floor and – very slowly – stood up.

"Well this is completely weird…"

If Hiccup hadn't got so used to flying upside down with Toothless he was sure he'd probably be throwing up sometime around now – as it was it threw him off balance thinking that he'd fall upwards (downwards?) every time he took a step. But slowly he began to make his way across the platform to the bridge adjoining it to the rest of the palace.

Looking around him Hiccup could see that everything was made entirely of crystal. It was actually quite beautiful. Suddenly he thought he caught a flicker if something in the corner of his eye. On edge, he spun around so fast he nearly gave himself a crick in the neck. But nothing was there. Just more crystal.

He waited a moment and continued walking. Wait – there it was again! And – voices?

"**What are you doing out?! Get inside!" **

"D- Dad?!" his eyes widened. He saw the shadow of his father through one of the crystal walls. "Wait – dad!"

He stretched out his hand but he had barely taken a step when…

"**You need to stop all –this….Stop being all of you."**

"Gobber?"

"**Everytime you step outside, disaster falls."**

"**It's not so much what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand"**

Hiccup stared in horror as the crystal walls around him began to flicker with images – images of his own memories.

The look on his dad's face when he told him his mother would never be coming back. Growing up picked and teased on. Too weak to do anything a 'normal' Viking could do. Everyone laughing at him. The look of disappointment on his father's face. His inventions failing again and again. Astrid looking at him in hatred.

"No…" Hiccup gasped clutching his hand to his chest. The images and voices started coming thick and fast. He began to sprint, trying to escape them, but they merely grew louder and confronted him from every surface, above and below.

"**You've made plenty of marks – all in the wrong places"**

"**I have his mess to clean up"**

"**I've never seen anyone mess up that badly"**

"**It's not so much what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand"**

Left to eat alone in the dining hall, abandoned again. His father leaving for battle, maybe to never return. Viking lessons with the others looking at him in disdain….

"**Oh great, who let **_**him**_** in…"**

"**He's never where he should be."**

"**Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?"**

"**You're small and you're weak…"**

"**They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking like teens instead"**

He clutched his hands over his ears.

"**Where did hiccup go wrong?"**

"**Er – he showed up?"**

"**He didn't get eaten?"**

Odin no….not this. I don't want to remember this. The dragon fight in front of his whole village. His father nearly being killed by Toothless. Toothless being beaten to the floor…

"**Everything in the ring a trick?! A lie?!"**

"**That dragon? That's what you're worried about? Not the people it almost killed?!"**

He heard his own voice echoing back at him.

"**Dad please! Dad no! For once in your life will you please just listen to me!"**

His heart stopped. He knew what came next.

**"You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking. You're not my son."**

Hiccup collapsed to the floor with a cry of agony. Oh god his head. Even closing his eyes didn't help. Why couldn't he get the images out of his head?!

Toothless being lowered in chains onto the boat. His father and most of the village disappearing into the sea mist, sailing to their deaths…Flaming boats, Toothless sinking, sinking…he tried so hard to free him but he couldn't…he wasn't strong enough…

Hiccup tried to focus, he tried so hard. Must find the key…he began crawling forward, not able to see where he was going for the images in front of his eyes. The harder he tried to ignore them, the worst they got. His head bumped into a wall. He was so tired. Why bother trying to go on…

Toothless' tail was burnt up. There was so much fire everywhere; he could feel it burning his back as they raced upwards. But no…the tail. That giant tail was coming towards them. It was going to hit them – they weren't going to make it.

He was falling….he was so scared.

Suddenly a wash of emotion ran over him. But it wasn't his.

"_Toothless?"_

He felt the distress and concern radiating from his friend. Toothless was still out there – and he was looking for him.

He remembered how Toothless had rejected a tail he had once made him, allowing him to fly alone – if he couldn't fly with Hiccup he didn't want to fly at all. Toothless chose to be with him, so he must have done something right, he realised.

He couldn't regret being different – if he had never done all those things, then he would never have met Toothless; never showed the Vikings a new way of living, and set them and the dragons free from the Monstrous Red Death.

Yes, there were bad memories, but without the bad there wouldn't have been the good that came from them.

The images in his head began to lessen.

Those bad memories were just as much a part of him as the good ones – wasn't that what they had been trying to tell Rapunzel? There was no point trying to shut them out – you had to accept them, learn from them and move on!

His vision cleared and he raised his head to look at the crystal wall in front of him. The images on it flickered and died, and the crystal became like the clearest glass. And just in front of him, inside the wall….

"The Gem!" Hiccup gasped. "But how do I get it?"

"Think Hiccup…think! Wait…this place works by using your memories….I wonder…"

He pictured in his mind the door from his old Viking home. He remembered every bolt, every carving, every swirling grain in the wood. The smell of new paint and sawdust after it was re-built. The feel of the handle beneath his fingers.

And slowly – ever so slowly – the crystal began to change its form. Like a ghost of an image it began, but then it grew into a solid crystal door. Hiccup reached out to grab the handle and pulled himself up, throwing it wide open.

Leaping threw the doorway he grabbed the Gem in front of him – and the whole world shattered.

* * *

Merida was pacing to and fro inn front of the pond. Toothless was as still as a statue and hadn't moved for the past hour, his eyes fixed on the spot that Hiccup had vanished.

Tooth had left a while ago to inform the other Guardians what was happening. Rapunzel was currently swaying back and forth distractedly on the make shift swing she had made using her hair and one of the grotto's trees. Jack was chatting to a fairy friend of his. Merida gritted her teeth. She hated all this waiting! What if something bad had happened to Hiccup? She felt a pang in her chest. Oh what she wouldn't give to shoot at something!

She glanced over at the pond for the umpteenth time, fully expecting it to be as still as it had been for the past hour. But suddenly – she noticed a ripple.

"Hey guys!" she shouted.

They barely had time to register why Merida was calling them, when the pond opened up into a whirlpool again and spat Hiccup out. They watched with wide eyes as he went flying through the air and landed squarely at Merida's feet.

He looked blearily up at her. "Miss me?" he joked wearily, holding out the Gem.

Merida just stared at him, emotions flitting across her face too quick for him to catch. But before he could investigate further he was attacked by a bounding dragon that seemed determined to lick and nuzzle him to death.


	17. Chapter 17

They were back up in the air again, and Hiccup relished in the wind blowing through his hair as it welcomed him back to the skies.

"_Tooth wasn't kidding when she said that place tried to get in your head"_ he thought.

Though he had defeated the test, the memories it had brought back were still haunting him slightly in the back of his mind. Still, at least he had succeeded getting the Gem.

He glanced over at Rapunzel, who had resumed her seat in Jack's pocket. The Gem was now nestled safely in her satchel, and they were on their way to the Pole to collect the next one.

Even after they had all studied it back at the Tooth Palace, none of them could figure out why this was needed to make the key. But, if Manny said it was important, it must be.

Suddenly, Hiccup noticed an island ahead of them. He stared closer. Wait, was that….

"Hiccup, where are we going?"

Jack heard Merida's question and noticed Toothless drifting lower to the sea below. "Everything ok Hiccup?" he yelled over the rushing wind.

"Yeah, I just….can we stop for a second? I want to check something out!"

Jack dived lower to bring himself closer to the descending dragon rider.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I think….I think I know this place!"

Jack peered at the small island that was getting closer by the minute. It looked pretty bleak – deserted, cold and windy.

The group came to land on a rocky cliff that soon transformed into wild forest. The second Merida and Rapunzel were standing on solid ground however, Hiccup and Toothless seemed to shoot off into the trees at a reckless pace.

"Hey! Hiccup! Wait!" Merida shouted after him.

The three of them began sprinting to keep up, barely keeping the dragon and his rider in sight.

They dodged and swerved the tree branches that appeared to loom out of nowhere in front of them. Rapunzel had gathered her hair in her arms to try and stop it getting tangled, but Jack could see she was struggling so he quickly swooped down to grab some, and floated behind her lifting it in the air. She gave him a grateful smile and continued rushing forwards.

Merida was leading the way, her practised eyesight at spotting targets helping her to keep Hiccup and Toothless in her sights. Sheesh, for a boy who was usually so clumsy on his feet, he sure didn't seem to have a problem dashing through all this undergrowth!

Suddenly, with a flick of his tail, Toothless and Hiccup disappeared behind a group of boulders. Scrambling to come to a stop she nearly went right into them and she put out both her hands to brace herself against the rock. Peering round one of the huge stones, her eyes widened.

There was a hidden pathway between the two massive rocks – almost completely over grown, but newly trampled by the recently passing dragon. It led down sharply a short way, and she could see Hiccup at the end staring at something.

She moved slowly to stand behind him. "You gonnae tell me what all tha' was about?"

Her jaw dropped slightly as she took in the hidden glade in front of them. It was accessible by a slight drop from where they stood, and surrounded by a circular wall of rock. There was a small lake amongst the green grass, flowers, weeds and the odd tree. It was like an overgrown, wild, but very picturesque garden. Toothless had already jumped down and was rolling around in the grass as if it was home.

Rapunzel and Jack finally caught up behind them. "Oh…it's so pretty!" Rapunzel sighed after she caught her breath.

"This…this is where Toothless and I trained together" Hiccup said softly. "This is Berk."

"Wow, your home island you mean? When you were a Viking?!" Jack's eyebrows went up.

"Yeah…"

Hiccup began climbing down into the cove and the others joined him. He started to wander about aimlessly, taking everything in as if in a half-dream.

"Since my memories came back I guess I knew this was here…maybe…after the test and everything…my subconscious just guided me back since it's so far north and we were coming this way anyway…."

Jack was watching him with a surprisingly understanding look on his face. Then his eyes flickered with an idea.

"Hey! There's no rush at the moment right? I mean, we're shattered after all that flying back and forth, so it probably won't be smart for Rapunzel to do the next trial until we've rested." He looked at Rapunzel who, catching on, nodded in confirmation. "How about we stay here for a bit?"

"Here?!" Hiccup turned to face him with a surprised expression.

"Yeah, why not?! After all those bad memories, how about we make some new ones?" Jack grinned.

Hiccup looked at the other two who smiled enthusiastically.

"Well….sure. Yeah, I guess that could be fun." He smiled gratefully.

"If it wasn't then I wouldn't be doing my job properly" Jack winked. "So – whose up for some ice skating?"

"Ice skating?!"

Yeah! You already have the lake – just a bit of frost, a bit of ice and bob's your uncle!"

"Wait, won't the frost hurt the flowers though?" Rapunzel interjected, looking worriedly at the plants around them. "It's not exactly the season for snow after all…"

"I can help with that" Hiccup moved over to the lake. He put one foot slightly in front of the other and stuck out both hands in front of him. A gentle breeze began to stir, working its way out from him and floating over the plant life. Slowly, oh so slowly, the flowers and weeds began to fold up on themselves. The petals on the flowers closed up and shrank back into the ground. The leaves on the trees turned stunning colours of reds, oranges and yellows and began to drift to the floor like confetti.

"Oh…it's beautiful!" Rapunzel breathed.

Finishing his task Hiccup turned and ruffled his hair in gesture of embarrassment. "Well, I wouldn't be a very good Autumn if I couldn't send the leaves to sleep could I?"

He looked at his work with an air of satisfaction. "I put the leaves and vegetation to sleep to help protect it from the frost and cold; that way it's all ready to wake up come spring time!"

"Yes, yes, it's all very pretty" Jack said running forward and spinning around to face them as he continued skipping back a few steps. "But let's not forget…" He took a step back onto the water, transforming it into a sheet of sold ice with every step, and he spread his arms wide to gesture at his accomplishment "ice skating trumps sleepy leaves."

He grinned mischievously and beckoned them to join him, whilst Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Yer sure it's a good idea with yer two left feet Hiccup?" Merida teased.

"Well if I go down, I'm taking you with me" he grinned back, grabbing her hand. "Come on!"

Running to the lake and pulling Merida behind him, he missed the shocked look on her face when he took her hand that faded into a soft smile and a hint of a blush.

Despite his originally confident attitude he slowed down when he reached the edge and stepped very gingerly onto the slippery surface. With all the snow they had had on Berk, he had gone skating on ice plenty of times – but that had been over 1000 years ago!

As his body slowly remembered however, he began moving with more confidence – left foot, right foot, slide, slide….

He slowed to support Merida who was wobbling beside him and giggling.

"I cannae believe I'm doing this! If I fall over yer gonna be in trouble!"

She linked her arm in his and held on tightly, bringing them closer together as she focused hard on where her feet were going. He gazed down at her, laying his other hand on her arm and smiled.

"Well sometimes falling is part of the fun don't you think?"

She span her head to look at him; her facial expression slightly stunned. And bright red.

"I – I guess so…" she flustered, starting to get warm. Very warm.

The ice beneath her feet began to soften.

* * *

Jack meanwhile was holding his hand out to Rapunzel. "Come on Punz, it's fun I promise."

"But…I don't have any shoes on" she said hesitantly.

"You can still slide with no shoes on, and we can always get Merida to warm them up for you afterwards. Come on, I promise I'll look after you. Trust me." He smiled at her, and she gazed into his eyes.

As if hypnotised she reached her hand forward to take his. "O…kay." She said shyly, stepping on to the ice.

As she took his hand she felt a tingling sensation where their skin touched. It was like electric. She put it down to the cold.

He placed his staff on the ice and took both her hands in his, slowly pulling her forward and making sure to keep her steady.

"Woah…oh Jack I'm not sure about this!" she cried wobbling.

"You're as safe as igloos Punz I promise. You're acting like you've never been on ice before!"

"Well…I haven't" she admitted.

"Woah, wait – never?"

"No… when I was alive I was kept in a tower my whole life by – by my kidnapper. When I did finally get out it was only for two wonderful days, and it was the middle of Spring then. Once I became a spirit I was just drawn to flowers so I was never in the same places as Winter. At least I know why now!"

Jack took a moment to let that sink in. To be trapped within a tower for your whole life – able to see the world but never touch it? That was awful. And that also meant…

"So was the snowball fight at North's workshop your first time in the snow?!"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes it was wonderful! So cold and fluffy! And snowballs! I've never thrown one before, it was amazing!"

"And the very first snowball you threw was at Bunny" Jack chuckled. "Oh he'll never let me hear the end of it; that makes it so much worse. He'll definitely think I've corrupted you now!" he groaned.

Rapunzel giggled.

"By the way Punz – look down."

She looked down and suddenly realised – she was skating by herself! Without her noticing, Jack had at some point let go of her hands but continued skating backwards in front of her, whilst keeping eye contact.

She gave a woop of delight – and promptly slipped. Hands spiralling to try and re-gain her balance she fell forward – and landed straight against Jack's chest.

She looked straight up to find his eyes gazing down into hers. They held a heated look that seemed odd to be coming from eyes so icy blue.

"See…" he spoke in a low voice that made her shiver for some reason "Safe as igloos."

His right hand was at her lower back clasping her tightly to him, whilst his left was gently holding her hand she didn't have splayed against his chest. Jack's eyes flickered down to look at her lips. She licked them nervously.

"AHHHHHH!" *SPLASH*

The two spirits spun their heads to look over at Hiccup and Merida – who had fallen in the lake!

Jack's heart stopped for what seemed like eternity, before Merida and Hiccup's heads quickly bobbed back up above the water spluttering.

The heat radiating from Merida has luckily melted a large portion of the ice, so though this meant that both of them had fallen in, it also meant that they were in no danger of being trapped under it.

"Gah! This is all yer fault Hiccup!"

"Me! Odin's beard, I'm not the one with fire for feet!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jack picked up Rapunzel and swung her onto his back so she could hold on piggyback style. He flew over to the edge of the broken ice and looked down at his two friends with an amused smirk.

"Don't tell me you forgot to turn your body temperature down oh-flamey one?" Jack teased.

"Oh you think it's funny do you?" her eyes narrowed at him.

"Well you've got to admit, it _is_ pretty funny" he said smugly, failing to notice the ice warming up underneath him too.

"Well in that case…" *crack* "you can join us!"

Jack barely had time to look down at the ice cracking under his feet when he and Rapunzel went crashing through.

Now, he knew she didn't know any better – and it helped that this water was at least warm from Merida's influence – but for a moment there…..he blinked his eyes to get rid of the flashbacks and emerged from the water to the sound of the others laughing and squealing as they splashed each other. Rapunzel had let go of him to avoid dragging him further down into the water, for which he was grateful.

He took a moment to straighten out his head again and remove the dark thoughts that had threatened when he had heard the ice crack beneath his feet.

"Jack?" a voice asked softly next to him. "Are you ok?"

He turned in the water to find Rapunzel's face close to his – very close. He could see the water droplets on her eyelashes.

"Yeah Punz…thanks" he smiled gently at her.

"Come on ye two lovebirds, I'm gettin' out and gettin' dry!" Merida called over her shoulder as she waded back to shore, melting the ice in front of her as she went.

Jack had tensed up at the word "lovebirds" and he gave Rapunzel an embarrassed grin before turning around to glare at Merida. She pulled a face at him and continued wading.

After everyone had finished making their way to the edge, they threw themselves down on the grass, panting and flustered.

Rapunzel groaned as she tugged all her hair out of the water. "Well, that was definitely fun – but this is going to take AGES to dry!"

"I can always bring some more sunlight this way if you like?" Merida offered, feeling a little guilty for getting Rapunzel wet in the first place. Unfortunately Jack's teasing had brought out her hot-headed side and she didn't tend to think things through when she was aggravated.

"I cannae dry you like I dry meself" she admitted "but I've been getting rid o' clouds and making it hotter for over 1000 years now, so I can have you dry in a heartbeat!"

"Thanks Merida" Rapunzel smiled at her gratefully "But I think too much heat would probably make Jack pretty uncomfortable."

Jack looked at her in surprise – he hadn't expected her to pick up on that when he had never said anything! Sure he could _survive _in warmer temperatures than his normal freezing one – but that didn't mean he particularly enjoyed them.

"I've got an idea." Hiccup said standing up. "You guys stand over there and hold onto that tree" he gestured to Jack and Rapunzel to move to the tree growing a little way away from them. "Merida – I assume you're fine getting dry your usual way?" She nodded, watching him curiously as steam already began to rise from her.

"Ok guys…" he moved over to stand with them and grabbed a low branch of his own. "Hold on!"

Suddenly, and too quickly to be natural, a large gust of wind appeared out of no where. It began blowing faster and stronger, until the three of them were holding on to the branches to prevent themselves being blown over. Rapunzel's hair was streaming behind her, its weight seemingly no issue for the strong wind.

The weirdest thing for Merida was the fact that, as she observed them from just a little distance away, there was little to no wind where she was standing at all!

The Autumn leaves Hiccup had created earlier were flying around in blurs of reds and golds. Jack and Rapunzel closed their eyes against the wind as it swirled around them. Then, slowly, it began to fade and die out. The roaring sound softened, and Rapunzel's hair came floating back down; now a great deal dryer.

Once the wind had died completely Jack blinked and looked at Hiccup. "That was like being in front of the world's biggest hair dryer!"

"That's was brilliant Hiccup!" Merida said bounding over. "I kind of wish I'd got dry your way now!"

"You mean I did something right for once?" He smirked. "Well you've certainly changed your tune!"

Rapunzel was holding one of the red leaves in her hand, looking at it thoughtfully. "Hmm…changed…Hiccup, have you ever thought about what your Guardian centre is?"

Hiccup halted his teasing of Merida and looked at Rapunzel in surprise. "Er…no actually. Why?"

"Well…" she said hesitantly, holding out the leaf to him "don't you think it might be change?"

"Change?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes." She said a little more confidently, raising her chin in determination.

"Remember Hiccup how you told me about all the changes you brought to your village? Teaching them about dragons and a new way of thinking – of living? And now, with your Season powers, you change the leaves and their state of being, transforming them from one thing to another in order to protect them. Don't you think?"

Merida looked in between Rapunzel and Hiccup with an odd look on her face.

Hiccup looked stunned. He thought about it. Everything she was saying – she was right! Why hadn't he thought of that before?! _"Oi Toothless, why didn't we think of that?!" _he thought to his friend who was snoozing in a spot of sun on the other side of the glade. He received the mental equivalent of an eye roll.

Beaming at the others he let out a laugh "I guess you're right! Thanks Punz!" he smiled warmly at her.

Suddenly, Merida stomped off towards Toothless, her hand clasping her bow tightly and grumbling to herself.

"Wha – Merida? Merida where are you going?" He glanced at the other two who looked at him blankly. Jack raised a questioning eyebrow and jerked his head at Merida's retreating back.

"What?!" Hiccup exclaimed. "I didn't do anything?!"

Rapunzel put her hands on her hips and gave him a look.

He sighed. "Ok, ok I'm going…"

Merida was sat on the floor next to Toothless, stroking his head and muttering to herself.

Hiccup came and stood next to her awkwardly, swinging his arms back and forth.

"Sooo…..nice weather we're having…"

She glared at him.

"Ok what? I give up, _what can I have possibly done _to upset you now?!" Hiccup asked exasperated.

"Nowt" Merida said shortly, pulling some grass out of the ground viciously. "Why are you even over here talking to me anyway? Don't you want to be over there talking to Jack and _Rapunzel?_"

He noted her emphasis on Rapunzel's name and frowned slightly. "Er, not particularly, why….?"

"It's ok, I understand. She's pretty and sweet and really lovely. It's just – why didn't yer talk ter me?" Merida swung round suddenly to look up at him.

"All tha' stuff she knew about yer past life. Yer never told me any o' that. And…and I thought…she blushed and looked down at the ground again.

Hiccup froze as the penny suddenly dropped. Wait did that mean…did she…was she _jealous?_

He sat down next to Merida and, cautiously, (he still remembered how quick she could be with those arrows) leant over and took her hand.

"Merida…" he said hesitantly. "Punz and I are just _friends_. We got talking shortly before the ceremony, and she asked - so I told her. If you had asked me, I would have told you too. There hasn't really been a moment to bring it up after all, no right time to go 'Hey Merida, wanna hear how I died?'" He joked, winning a small smile from her.

"But…if there's anything you want to know about me, I'm more than happy to tell you. You just have to ask. I enjoy talking with you…I enjoy being with you…" now it was his turn to blush but he kept his eyes determinedly fixed on her face, so he was able to capture her eyes when she finally looked up at him.

Merida looked at him. She gulped. And then she punched him on the arm.

"Owwww! Why would you _do_ that?!

"Oh dunnae be such a baby, you ninny" she said standing up and brushing down her dress."

"Great, so I'm a baby _and _a ninny now…" Hiccup grumbled.

He looked up to see Merida had her hand out to help him up.

"Yeah, but yer a good man too" she smiled.

* * *

**Author note – an Anonymous review asked about the character's ages. Taking out their actual "existing" ages, these are the ages their bodies are in my head – Hiccup – 16, Merida – 17, Rapunzel - 18, Jack – 17. Whilst the last 3 are more accurate, I've aged Hiccup up a little bit from what he is probably supposed to be so it doesn't feel weird putting him in romantic situations!**

**So yes, apologies for the purely relationship-building chapter here, but I needed something like this to build the romance a bit quicker. Also, I love cutesy romantic moments, I can't help it!**

**(And Jack holding his hand to Punz and saying trust me – yes I totally stole that from Aladdin. Jack and Aladdin are really alike I think!)**


	18. Chapter 18

Rapunzel stood in front of the door to North's Guardian Test for the second time. She pinched a leaf between her fingers lightly, feeling its texture to calm her nerves. She cast her mind back to when Jack gave it to her.

***flashback***

She had sat on the grass and began drawing in her sketchbook in an attempt to focus on something other than Hiccup and Merida's heated conversation over the other side of the glade.

"Hey Rapunzel?"

She turned away from her drawing to face Jack. He was holding out a leaf to her.

"What's that….oh!" she gave a small exclamation of delight. The leaf he held out to her was one of the autumn leaves Hiccup had blown off the tree earlier. It was a beautiful yellow, almost golden, and perfectly formed with no rips or creases.

But what made it especially stunning was the frost that covered it. Intricate swirling patterns of silver glinted over the gold, freezing it in an eternally crisp condition.

"I saw how much you liked the leaves Hiccup made and thought you might like one…" he shrugged in embarrassment.

"Jack it's gorgeous…but wont the frost melt?"

"It's special" he said enthusiastically. "With that frost the leaf will keep its colour and form forever - no natural heat can melt it. I'd keep it away from Merida though; I'm pretty sure that magical heat is an exception to the rule."

She took the leaf from him and held it out in the sun, where the frost caught the light and sparkled. _"It's like moonlight and sunshine" _she thought to herself. Out loud she merely said "Thank you. It's beautiful!"

So caught up was she in looking at the twirling leaf in her fingers that she missed Jack's gaze upon her as he replied "Yeah…beautiful."

***end of flashback***

She folded the leaf safely away in her satchel and her jaw set in determination. No running away this time. Not daring to turn around and look at the others in case she lost her nerve, she grabbed hold of the handle and threw herself through the doorway.

* * *

She was in a dark room. Dark and grey. The continuous glow of her hair seemed to be the only light source. She blinked as she waited for her eyes to adjust.

The door had closed behind her the moment she had stepped through, and there was no point turning back anyway so she slowly moved further into the middle of the room.

Her bare feet could feel cold, dusty tiles below them. As shapes slowly began to reveal themselves she realised that she was in a circular room. The walls were bare with the odd wooden beam. There was a small staircase leading up on the right. There was a tiny kitchen. And….

Rapunzel had slowly turned around on the spot taking everything in, until she had ended up facing the doorway she had come in through. Except it wasn't a normal doorway. It was a window. _Her _window.

"No…." she felt like the air had been knocked out of her lungs and she barely felt her knees buckle below her as she stared at the window in horror. How many years had she spent staring at it? She would never forget its shape, or the way it looked when the shutters were closed; sealing her off from the outside world with only the smallest crack of light shining in from a gap at the bottom.

She finally recognised the room for what it was. This was her tower! Her tower: yet different. The walls were blank, there were no paintings anywhere. Everything – _everything _was dull. No books on the shelves, no games on the table, no cooking utensils in the kitchen. No mirror, no hung up cloaks or baskets with food in. Just blank, and grey and void of life.

She looked at the floor she was sitting on, and pressed her fingers into the fine layer of dust. It was abandoned; just like she had been. She felt the energy drain out of her. It was like…like she never left. All that effort she put into escaping – irrelevant. All that time she put into making this place look like home – wasted. What was the point? Why had she tried anyway? She laughed bitterly at herself, remembering how she had "prettied up" her prison.

Who knows how long she sat there, but as she stared at the blank walls around her, the glow in her hair began to slowly fade away. And as it did the inspiration, the wonder, the spark that made her who she was began to fade with it.

The room around her slowly got greyer and greyer. Not dark, but de-saturated. She tried to rouse herself but she just couldn't find the will. The closed window seemed so far away.

"I was so stupid trying to create my own world here_"_ she thought.

"Paint can't transform a ceiling into skies, or that wall into a forest. There were never dancing butterflies or flittering birds that landed on my wardrobe. Drawing animals on the walls didn't mean they were here. What is so brilliant about the world anyway? The world is so small now, it's not like there is anything new to discover. It's better to just stay here. All that exists are the walls, the floor and the shutters. Everything else is just paint. Just ordinary paint."

Her natural glow was so faint now that the dim light filtering in from the crack in the shutters was practically the only light source. As the last of her desire for life began to drain out of her, her head dropped and she sighed, sending up a cloud of dust from the floor.

As she breathed it in, preparing to succumb to a life of dull, grey acceptance, her eye was suddenly caught by a sparkle. Her satchel had fallen from her shoulder when she had collapsed to the floor and it was now lying open. The leaf that Jack had given her had fallen out and was lying in the tiny patch of light coming in from the window – and the frost upon it was glinting at her.

And that was all it took. That glinting, twinkling leaf set off a spark of inspiration inside her.

She remembered the beauty of the leaves Hiccup created, swirling about in the wind as if they were dancing. Merida's hair flaming as she dried herself off, the flames flickering in joy. Jack's frost as it swirled in such intricate patterns, more delicate than any lace. Her flowers – such bright colours, like jewels on a background of green. She did that. Bunny had always praised her painting, claiming she had done some of the most beautiful eggs he had ever had and she knew he was above giving pointless flattery.

Slowly the realisation came upon her that she had the power to choose what happened to her – she always had. Painting the walls hadn't been pointless, they had been a way of keeping her sane – and if she hadn't have painted those sun shapes on the wall she would never have realised who she was! She was the one who decided to leave the tower, and there was such beauty in the world! So many new experiences to have! She had barely begun her adventure when she chose to stand up to Gothel, and now was her time to get out there and continue it!

She put the leaf back in her satchel and wrenched herself up from the floor. Almost dragging herself to the window, she tried to pull open the shutters but they wouldn't budge. She gazed at it for a moment. Then she reached for her paints.

Her brushes span in her hands like one might wield a weapon. As they put down layer upon layer of paint on the grey shutters she began to create a beautiful scene. Red for Merida's hair. Green for Hiccup's eyes. Blue for Jack's hoody. Almost in a fevered dream, her hand moved faster and faster, the brushes nearly a blur.

Her friends stood there waiting for her, smiling in greeting. They were in a beautiful green field that was covered in flowers. Snowflakes and autumn leaves danced in the sunlight.

And finally, in the foreground, she painted one of her Rampion flowers. But to her own, larger, scale this time. Giant, purple and beautiful, its petals were unfurled and on top of it rested the gem.

Her frantic painting came to a stop as she added the finishing touches. She placed her paints and brushes back in her satchel and wiped the perspiration from her forehead, leaving a smear of blue paint.

Then - without really knowing why - she leaned forward as if she could reach through the painting and grab the gem. And that was exactly what she did.

The painting shimmered as her hand went through it, and she grasped the Gem tightly in her hand. Then she closed her eyes and threw the rest of her body into the painting.

She landed with a thud on the floor, clutching the Gem close to her. Cracking open one eye she was almost afraid to look. But once she had she was momentarily stunned. There they were – her friends. Waiting for her just like she had imagined. Sure, it was in a dark cramped room underneath North's workshop, but the joy on their faces at her return was far more magical than any field.

And she knew then that the place she had just left wasn't really an echo of her home at all. Because her home was here – with them.

* * *

**Author's Note – A Rapunzel centred chapter this, so sorry if you were looking forward to seeing more of the others. I think I found North's Guardian Test the hardest to figure out – how are you supposed to show someone losing "wonder" exactly? And how do they gain it back? Well I hope this worked out ok, let me know if you think I need to make it any clearer. **


	19. Chapter 19

Jack pulled Rapunzel to her feet, unable to hide his expression of relief at her return. He barely had time to exchange smiles with her though when a mass of red hair obscured his vision.

"Punz! Yer ok!" Merida threw herself onto her female friend, laughing in relief.

"I know!" Rapunzel said sounding slightly surprised at herself. "And I have the Gem – look!" She held it out on her palm and they studied it closely.

"Hmm…Punz. Can I see the other Gem too?" Hiccup asked with a thoughtful look on his face.

She reached into her satchel and brought it out, holding them next to each other.

"Look…" Hiccup pointed out to the others. "…they fit together."

He picked up the two pieces and put them together. When combined they created half of the shape of a typically cut diamond that one might find in a ring – except this gemstone would probably be about the size of a clenched fist once completed.

"So…the gem pieces are meant to go together to create one whole Gem?" Rapunzel queried.

"Looks like it" Hiccup nodded.

"Two down, only two ter go then!" Merida said confidently.

"But where do we go next?"

"I can answer that"

They all jumped as Bunny appeared next to them, having padded softly down the staircase on his furry feet.

"It's quicker to get to my place next as we can take one of me tunnels, so we're all about to set off for the Warren. You guys all done here?"

"Yes, I did it Bunny! I managed to defeat the test!" Rapunzel beamed proudly.

"That's great news Zel! I knew you could do it!" he said, picking her up in a brief bear hug.

"Ah Sheila, you've got some blue paint on yer head" he said wiping it off, chuckling to himself as Rapunzel tried to look at it, going cross eyed.

"I think she looks good in blue" Jack said softly leaning on his staff and smiling at her.

Spotting Bunny's eyes narrowing Rapunzel quickly pushed him towards the stairs.

"Come on then, we should probably get upstairs. We can't use your tunnels in here with the restriction on magical transportation."

Bunny grunted his assent, and reluctantly moved away from Jack to lead the way up back up.

Hiccup started to walk after him when he felt a tugging at his belt. He looked down to find some of Rapunzel's golden hair tied around it and looked behind to see her and Merida smirking at him.

"We're not taking any chances on those stairs" Merida said firmly.

"Oh come on!" he groaned and threw his hands up in frustration. "Jack – a little help here?"

"Don't look at me Bambi, I'm not the one who has trouble walking on his own two feet" Jack grinned, obviously loving watching the girls tease him.

"Bambi?!"

"Hey, the dude had trouble walking too, it seemed to fit" Jack shrugged.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "Dragons do eat deer you know. And I'm sure they have no problem with pesky frost spirits either."

"You'll have to do better that that to scare me Hiccup, all I have to do it lay down one itty bitty piece of ice and you'll be flat on your back before you can say icicle." Jack chuckled and sprinted past to run up the stairs.

Hiccup moved to try and catch him when he realised he was still attached to Rapunzel's hair.

"Come on Punz – really?!"

"Don't look at me!" she said looking at him with wide innocent eyes. "It was Merida's idea, and I'm not going to argue when she points an arrow at me!"

He glanced at Merida who was looking at him smugly. He sighed in defeat and began trudging up the stairs.

* * *

Bunny jumped out the end of his tunnel into the Warren and waited for the others to follow. The other Guardians were coming via North's portal later. He could hear Rapunzel and Merida's woops of delight as they slid down the tunnel and he chuckled to himself.

Stepping out of the way to make room, he watched as Rapunzel came out first; landing lightly on her feet and skipping to the side.

Merida came next. Unfortunately she wasn't as used to the landing as much as Rapunzel (who had travelled this way before) so she stumbled and Jack, who came afterwards, had to jump over her. Hiccup however, was not quick enough to avoid the collision and they went flying to the floor in a tangle.

He frantically tried to get up and move, though he only succeeded in getting himself more caught up in Merida's bow and she seemed to have got her dress attached to the hooks on his belt.

"Stop moving!" she cried out as his desperate struggling only got them more entangled.

"But we have to move! Quick! He's – argh!"

And the reason for Hiccup's frantic desire to move became apparent as Toothless came crashing down the tunnel and landed on top of them.

Bunny, Jack and Rapunzel winced.

"Argh! Gerrof me yer great lump!" Merida groaned pushing at Toothless' leg.

He looked down at them in confusion before standing up and carefully moving off to the side.

"_Thanks_ bud…I didn't need those ribs anyway…" Hiccup wheezed lying on the ground.

Toothless made a soft whining noise and looked at them both with wide apologetic eyes.

"Oh no Toothless…I'm not falling for that!"

"Awww, how can yer stay mad at him?" Merida cooed, quickly giving in. "It's ok Toothless I forgive yer" she said, going over and scratching his chin.

"Don't look into his eyes it's a trap!" Hiccup warned jokingly. "That's how he sucks you in and then….oh Toothless stop giving me the puppy dog eyes!"

Toothless continued to gaze at him and flattened the scales back on his head so he appeared even more morose.

Hiccup sighed. "Fine. I forgive you bud. You know I can't stay mad at you for long anyway."

Toothless let out a little yip of happiness and bounded over to nuzzle him.

"Well now we've all arrived in one piece" Bunny interrupted "Welcome to the Warren!"

Merida and Hiccup gazed about themselves in wonder, taking in the lush grass, beautiful colours, enchanting engraved stones and eggs – eggs everywhere!

"Now you fellas and sheilas wait here and make yourselves comfy; I just need to get something. I'll be right back" Bunny said before rushing off down one of the tunnels.

As Merida and Hiccup continued to make a fuss over Toothless, Jack gazed about the Warren smiling as he remembered the last time they were all here painting eggs. It wasn't so crazily busy now that Easter was over, but there were still beautiful eggs and flowers all over the place; already beginning their preparations for next year.

Then his face fell as he remembered how those wonderful eggs had been destroyed by Pitch; all because he hadn't been there to stop him. And now he was back again, and he had a second chance to prove his worth – but only if he managed to defeat the test.

He felt a hand on his arm and he looked down to see that Rapunzel had come to stand next to him. "Are you ok Jack?" She asked, giving him an understanding look.

"Oh you know me Punz, I'll be fine!" he said with false bravado, but then his voice took on a more serious tone. "What – what was it like for you? In the test I mean?"

She hesitated and then sat down on a grassy mound, pulling her knees up under her chin and gazing forward thoughtfully. Jack crouched down next to her, watching her curiously.

"It was hard. You don't realise what it's doing to you at first, it – it gets inside your head I guess." She hesitated for a moment.

"I felt so lost Jack, I nearly didn't make it" she admitted softly. "But then I saw the leaf you gave me and I remembered your snowflakes – I remembered you. And you gave me hope.

You, Hiccup, Merida – you are all such an inspiration to me. It was down to you guys in fact that I realised my centre…"

"You did?!" Jack turned to her in surprise.

She nodded, pulling out her sketch book. She flipped it open, and there, on page after page were drawings of them all. The Guardians and the Seasons, with snowflakes and leaves and sunlight and flowers, all intertwined. Sketches of Toothless, close ups of hands, and a pair of blue eyes…

"It's Creativity. Creativity helped me get out of that test, and you – you guys – are my muse." She paused. "I know you can do this Jack. I know you can because – I believe in you."

He found himself unable to look at her for a moment. To know that someone believed in him that much – that their belief had given them the strength to defeat the Guardian Test….it was a little overwhelming. How long had he been waiting for someone to believe in him like that?

He forced himself to look over at her and found him self captivated in her smile – that smile would be the end of him he thought.

"Back!" Bunny announced; re-appearing from a nearby tunnel with something clutched in his paw. "You ready Jack?"

Jack nodded seriously and stood up from where he was crouching. "I'm ready!"

Bunny clapped his paw onto Jack's shoulder and gave him an encouraging nod. Then he turned and led them to a wall of rock, hidden behind one of the giant mounds of grass and egg statues. It was covered in moss and there wasn't anything particularly special about it – but Jack could sense something pulling him towards it all the same.

Bunny held his hand out to roughly the centre of the wall and began scraping off the moss to reveal a small, ovoid indentation. As he lifted up his other paw, the group could finally see the item he had clasped within it.

It was an egg. But this egg was unlike any of the others in the Warren. Rather than light pastel colours, this egg was black, with swirling green moving across the surface.

He pressed it into the hole on the wall and it was a perfect fit. Leaving it there, he stood back and began to speak. "_My name is Bunnymund, Guardian of Hope. This is my home. This is my test."_ A grinding noise began to echo around them.

Moss and leaves fell down from the wall as a huge circular segment of it sank back and slid away to leave a hole about the height of a man.

It was incredibly eerie; no amount of light that was shining onto that hole could pierce its dark depths. It was like the blackness was a dark wall of its own, and Jack knew the only way to see what was on the other side – was to go through.

"Remember mate -" Jack jerked his head to look over at Bunny who was watching him with a hint of worry etched on his face "- this Test is tied to me, so it wont be 'snowballs and fun times' as you put it. It's going to drain you of all hope - and people underestimate how much a lack of hope can kill ya."

Jack nodded tensely to show he'd understood, grasped his staff tightly – and stepped forward.

* * *

He blinked as the gloom melted away before him to reveal – white. So much white. It was a bit of a shock to the senses, coming straight from the colourful Warren.

He took the time to get his bearings and realised he was in a wood – and everything was covered in snow. Though this should have comforted him, it immediately put him on edge – the snow was obviously for him. The Test knew who he was - and had planned something especially for him.

He had barely taken his first step on the crunchy snow, when he heard a sound. Laughter? It echoed off the trees around him, making it hard to pinpoint the source.

"Jack!"

It was clearer this time. His head span round to find the source of the voice – no. Voices.

"Jack come here!"

"Jack where are ye yer daft bugger?"

"Hurry up Jack! We're waiting!"

His feet began moving, and he nearly stumbled in his desperation to get to the people calling him. Suddenly he burst from the trees and arrived in a clearing. In front of him was an icy lake.

Merida and Hiccup were sat at the side, laughing and smiling as if out on a picnic. And there on the lake, just like she had been when he had been teaching her to skate, was Rapunzel.

Upon seeing him she burst into a smile as bright as the sun, waving frantically.

"Where were you Jack? I was waiting for you!"

He was confused, but he began to calm down ever so slightly. Until he heard it.

CRACK.

As if in slow motion he saw the look of surprise on Rapunzel's face quickly turn into one of fear, as the ice fell away beneath her and she plummeted into the icy depths.

He ran to her – oh god he ran so fast – but he just could not get there quick enough. In front of his eyes the ice began forming over the hole she had left, finally re-sealing itself just as he threw himself down onto the surface where the hole had been.

"NOOO!" he screamed in horror, banging on the ice with his bare fists. She was there; he could see her, staring up at him from underneath, begging him with those huge green eyes of hers to save her.

Banging on it with his fists wasn't working, he needed something stronger. His staff – where was his staff?! It was no longer in his hands – _where was it?!_

He spun around in desperation and suddenly spotted Merida and Hiccup watching from the bank. He had forgotten all about them!

"Help me!" he cried desperately to them. "Guys! Do something!"

They continued to watch passively. Their facial expressions did not change. But they did start to speak.

"It's such a shame don't you think?" Hiccup said to Merida, in a tone one might use to comment that the weather was no longer sunny.

"Aye. Nothing ter be done about it though." Merida shrugged.

"No point in getting worried about it; there's no hope for her after all…"

Jack's eyes were wild with panic and disbelief. "What's _wrong_ with you?! We have to _do_ something!" He rushed over to them and reached out to grab Hiccup by the shoulders and shake him. But his hands went right through him. They could not see him.

Jack stared at his hands in horror as Merida replied to Hiccup.

"Aye. Completely hopeless." She agreed. "Best to leave it be. Hoping only sets ye up fer heartbreak anyway. Kind lass she was. She would have wanted us ter let her go, don't you think Hiccup?"

"Yes. She wouldn't want her friends to have false hope."

Jack slowly backed away from them in horror. He ran back to Rapunzel, trying to block out the monotone voices of his 'friends' that followed him across the ice.

He could still see her there – her golden hair floating around her like a glowing halo, her hand pressed against the ice reaching for him. But just as he reached out his hand to press against the ice too he saw a light die in her eyes. She had given up. She couldn't wait for him any more. It was too late. It was hopeless.

As she began to sink into the icy blackness, he closed his eyes – a single, icy tear escaping them and falling onto the image of her fading face.

"Rapunzel…" he choked.

"_I felt so lost Jack, I nearly didn't make it"_ he suddenly heard her voice echoing in his head. _"But then I saw the leaf you gave me and I remembered your snowflakes – I remembered you. And you gave me hope."_

No. He couldn't give up on her - he _wouldn't _give up on her. There was always hope if he would only try! His eyes flew open in new-found determination and he looked down to find his staff in his hand.

Standing up he raised his staff high above his head – and brought it smashing down upon the ice. With an almighty smash the ice flew apart, leaving a big enough hole for him to reach through.

He bent down and thrust his arm into the freezing waters to grab her hand – but as he pulled his arm back up he found that he was holding the gemstone instead!

He barely had time to register what he was holding in his hand when suddenly the rest of the ice cracked beneath him and he went crashing through.

His eyes flinched shut automatically as he re-lived the moment of his death once more. He braced himself for that freezing water, the burning sensation as his lungs ran out of air and that final feeling of soul-numbing tiredness as his eyes closed forever….

Except that it wasn't cold. It was pleasantly warm. And it wasn't water and ice he felt beneath his hands, but grass.

"Jack! Jack are you ok?"

Another trick? Jack thought to himself. He wasn't sure his heart could take it. He cracked open his eye to find Rapunzel leaning over him with a worried look on her face. He was sitting on the grass back in the Warren.

Without thinking he grabbed Rapunzel and pulled her down into an awkward hug. He buried his face in her hair and held on tightly – just breathing and re-assuring himself that she was real.

Catching her breath from the sudden tug to the ground, Rapunzel patted his back awkwardly from her bent position and said softly.

"It's ok Jack, it's ok. You're back. Are – are you alright?"

He nodded mutely into her hair, before adding in a gentle but terse manner. "I'm ok I just – I just need to hold you for a second. Is that ok? I need to know that you're here – and that I'm not invisible."

She nodded silently and, whilst the others moved away to give them some space, she shifted into a more comfortable position to return his embrace.

* * *

**Author's Note - I have made an edit to try and emphasise in this chapter that the Tests are _not _to do with the Season's centres (eg. Jack's centre being Fun) but they are tied to the Guardian's centres (memories, wonder, hope and dreams respectively). The fact that the other Season's have previously discovered their centres whilst doing the tests are only because these tests are the first time they have been really emotionally challenged since they re-gained their memories. Hope that makes sense and wasn't too confusing!**


	20. Chapter 20

Bunny couldn't help but feel a little smug as he saw all The Guardians and Seasons gather in the centre of the Warren. North's Workshop had always been the unofficial meeting place for them all, so it was nice to play host for once. And maybe show off a little.

With a tap of his foot, eight rocks popped up from the ground in a circle; smooth, covered in moss and the perfect height to sit on. No running about for chairs was needed here!

As everyone took their seats he couldn't help but notice that Rapunzel and Jack were, once again, seated next to each other. He sighed inwardly. As much as it irked him, it was becoming hard for him to ignore that Jack seemed to really care for Rapunzel – and that she returned his feelings.

It was the look on Jack's face when he had come out of the test that had finally convinced him. He remembered his own test vividly, and was well aware of the trauma it could put you through. But the way he had looked at her….like a drowning man clinging to a raft in a storm. When he had come out of that test his eyes had registered no one else, not even for a second; Rapunzel was clearly the only thing that could have helped to calm him in that moment.

Bunny had made up his mind. As long as Jack was serious about it and Rapunzel continued to feel the same way, he would stop trying to get between them…..but that didn't mean he couldn't still give Jack a hard time about it. He smirked a little evilly before taking his place in the circle.

"Right yer gumbies, let's call this meeting to order! Zel you got the Gems?"

She nodded and held out all three of the gems they had collected so far.

"Bonza! So now we only have one to go."

"But this is hardest one" North said somberly.

"As I'm sure you've realised now Merida, your test will take place at Sandy's Castle." Tooth explained.

Merida looked at Sandy who nodded, looking rather serious himself for once. An image of a castle appeared above his head, which changed into floating 'Z's and clouds. Then, eerily, these changed into figures that looked horribly like Pitch's nightmares.

"Each test is a twisted version of your guy's centre's right?" Hiccup said slowly. "So, the opposite of dreams would be….nightmares?"

"Exactly" North nodded.

"That's why it's so dangerous. Sandy and Pitch are essentially each other's opposite – they are simultaneously the weakest and yet most dangerous against each other. This is why he was Pitch's first target before." Tooth held out her hand to Sandy who took it comfortingly.

"When you enter the test, you are literally going to be walking into the lion's den – it will be a world of nightmares and expecting Pitch not to notice you there is highly unlikely."

"Aye, I understand" Merida replied. Hiccup looked at her in admiration. Though you could see a hint of trepidation on her face that showed she did not take the warning lightly, her voice held no indication of hesitance or fear.

"That's why we should create a distraction" Hiccup announced.

"What?" Jack asked in confusion.

"I was thinking about it." Hiccup explained "Either way we have to get this Gem, and the only one of us who can get it is Merida, so there's nothing we can do about that. What we _can _do however, is try to keep Pitch busy enough that he doesn't notice Merida running around in the corners of his realm somewhere. This will give her one less thing to worry about, and she can focus on getting in and out of there as fast as possible." He gave her an encouraging smile and she returned it with a grateful one of her own.

The others looked a mixture of thoughtful and concerned. "But we're not powerful enough to defeat both Pitch and Pandora yet" Tooth piped up, her worried features revealing her reservations.

"We don't need to defeat them; just distract them" Hiccup countered. "If we plan it right we should be able to hold them off just long enough for Merida to complete the test, and then use either Bunny's tunnels or North's teleports to escape safely."

"It's still very risky…" Tooth hesitated. Everyone there knew that her reluctance was by no means from fear of fighting – she was afraid of them getting hurt. Even having only properly known her for a few days, the Seasons all got a 'mother-hen' vibe from Tooth and knew she was more worried about them getting hurt than herself.

"I'm sure we will all be fine" Rapunzel said comfortingly, taking Tooth's hand and gazing at her earnestly. "But if there are any injuries, I can make them right as rain again, so you don't need to worry about us."

"Yeah Tooth, you worry too much – hang on what?" Jack ran back what Rapunzel had just said in his head. "What do you mean 'make them right as rain'"?

She opened her mouth to explain but was interrupted by a chuckle from Bunny.

"What you don't know? Guess she can't have told you yet, but still – you're not the brightest egg in the basket are you?"

"Told me about what?" Jack asked in exasperation.

"How else do you think she got rid of that bump on the head so quickly back at the Pole?"

Jack blinked and turned to scrutinise Rapunzel's foreheard. Why hadn't he noticed before? That bump had been coming up pretty big and red in the toy workshop, but had vanished by the next time he'd seen her during the snowball fight.

Rapunzel sighed and rolled her eyes at Bunny. "My hair gives me the power to heal" she explained, holding out some of it in her hand. "I guess it's always healing to some extent as it is always glowing, so any injuries I get never tend to last long. If I want to heal someone else I just have to place it on their injuries. It takes a bit more will power if it's anything particularly nasty, but that's pretty much it."

"Wow really?!" Merida picked up some of the hair that was lying next to her and peered at it closely. "That's belter!"

Rapunzel nodded. "It did sort of the same thing when I was alive, but I had to sing to make it work then…"

"Hang on a second!" Hiccup said jumping up and running over to Toothless. He opened a bag he now had attached there, and pulled out a notebook and pencil, before coming back to his seat.

"What do you have there?" Rapunzel asked curiously.

"Oh" Hiccup blushed slightly "Well after you showed me your drawings back at the Pole, I figured it would be pretty handy to have a place to keep mine too, so I asked North to bring me a bag and notebook."

Turning to everyone else, he opened the book to a blank page and held his pencil, ready to write.

"If we're going to plan this properly it would be a good idea to know what everyone's abilities are. Who wants to go first?"


	21. Chapter 21

(**warning note - one swear word and violence in this chapter)**

"AHHHH!" a scream of anger echoed through the cave making Pitch's Nightmares melt back into the darkness in fear.

There was a loud echoing clang as Pandora threw a rock at the Globe, with the sparkling lights glinting at them tauntingly.

"Pandora it's no good taking your temper out on the décor" Pitch placated her patronisingly, forgetting himself for the briefest of moments.

She turned to him with her eyes glowing wild and green, a snarl of madness on her face. Then she seemed to calm and she smoothed down her dress and hair that had been flying wildy around her.

Maybe she didn't wish to be seen as anything but utterly in control, but whatever the reason, Pitch was just glad she hadn't taken to slicing his Nightmares into pieces as she would often do for fun. It took a lot of effort to make those things!

"My apologies Pitch" she crooned, narrowing her eyes at him in a predatory manner. "After you have been such a gracious host, the last thing I'd want to do is upset you"

As she spoke in hushed tones she sauntered over to him until she was standing uncomfortably close. She placed a finger underneath his chin and brought him forward, before giving him a quick yet gentle kiss on the lips.

She moved away a fraction of an inch so he could still feel her breath upon his face.

"And I'm sure you don't want me to be upset either do you?" she whispered.

He shook his head ever so slightly, feeling like he was being eyed by a hungry lioness – every nerve in his body was screaming danger.

"Then WHY" he felt her hand squeeze around his neck "do those _idiotic _spirits already have three of MY Gems?!"

She shoved him away from her and spun on her heel to walk back over to the globe, glaring at the North Pole.

Regaining his balance, pitch rubbed his neck and glared at her. Powerful and dangerous she may be, but he was the King of Nightmares and he would be damned if he let her win this battle between them for the upper hand.

He allowed himself a pointed-tooth grin. He admitted that he rather enjoyed their spats, even if she was completely insane; not that he would tell her that. She would kill him on the spot.

"The Guardian Tests were too tightly guarded Pandora, you know that! Sandy's test is the one place I can access, but for that to happen I need to be in the Nightmare realm and listening closely for when they open the door from their side. That will show me which part of the Nightmare realm they are in so I can find them and take the Gem."

He moved over towards her, still continuing to grumble.

"I tried to break into the one at Tooth Palace but it wouldn't budge an inch, and there wasn't enough time to try anything else before those infernal Season's showed up. And you were the one who had wanted to bring them there in the first place need I remind you."

"I know" she spat "and for good reason. You'll be glad enough of it when the time comes trust me. Hmmm." She tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the globe, before running her nails down it. It emitted a high pitched shrieking sound that set Pitch's teeth on edge and left four sharp lines engraved into the metal.

"Well no matter. In fact, why not let them collect the Gems for us?" She twirled to face him, an excited gleam in her eye.

"In fact I have just thought of the perfect moment to use that item I gave you. Change of plans Pitch darling" she clapped her hands excitedly before a thoughtful look fell over her features.

"Unfortunately this means I'm going to have to get my hands dirty" she pouted.

"But Pandora, I didn't think you could get into the Guardian's test?

She smiled.

* * *

Merida's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she took in Sandy's castle. This place was AMAZING!

Situated in the middle of the Sahara desert and surrounded by an oasis that was invisible to most, was the Sand Castle.

Made entirely from golden sand, its every surface glittered and shimmered in a mesmerising manner. Turrets towered above them the closer they got, with a drawbridge and golden flags waving in the wind.

Merida originally took the architecture to be of western medieval design in its appearance but as she studied it closer she noticed that the walls and towers would shift and change, revealing influences from all over the world.

Asian styled rooftops and bridges linking the towers, columns from ancient Greece would shoot up to frame the draw bridge, Italian renaissance domed ceilings….The whole place was an ever-shifting mish mash of world-wide buildings.

Tooth had tried to describe it to her before they had left, but had struggled to find the words – now Merida could see why.

All she had said in the end was "Why do you think one of the first things children all over the world build when they find themselves on a beach or in a sandpit is a castle? Because that is what they see in their dreams – Sandy never even means to show it to them, but that place is so engrained within him they can not help but see it and it lights up their imagination!"

Sandy's sand cloud that carried them both gently lowered them in front of the entrance, and with a bow he welcomed her to his home.

Now they had arrived, Merida began frantically running the plan through her head, desperate to make the most of the time the others were going to give her. She remembered how Hiccup had taken her to one side before they had parted. He had looked so serious and she remembered the way he had brushed a curl away from her face before speaking.

"Remember to wait until the sun is at its highest – that is when Pitch is weakest and you have the most strength"

She had nodded, unable to speak and he had smiled at her encouragingly. "Merida" he paused before starting again. "Merida, I would tell you good luck but I know you don't need it. You are the bravest of us all and I know you're far too stubborn to let anything happen to you." He grinned as she let out a noise of protest.

"But just so you know – if you even THINK about not coming back, I WILL be coming in there to get you." She had looked at him stunned as he gazed at her with a blush on his face, but there was a look in his eyes that told her he was deadly serious. Then North had called her to say it was time to go and he had turned away.

She glanced up at the sky one final time before stepping through the archway to the Sand Castle. It was nearly time.

* * *

Hiccup gulped as he glanced up at the sky; Merida should be at the Sand Castle by now. He would do anything it took to make sure she got out of there safely, even if it meant…

Placing a hand on Toothless for encouragement, he exchanged thoughts with the dragon. _"Here we go then. You better go first bud, I could do without breaking another pair of ribs." _

Toothless jumped down into the dark hole that led to Pitch's lair and with one last look at the sky Hiccup followed.

* * *

Sandy led Merida further into the castle, through corridors with thousands upon thousands of doors of different shapes and designs, stretching every which way for what seemed like miles.

"What's in them?" Merida asked.

An image of clouds and floating Z's appeared above his head. Dreams.

After many a twisting and turning corridor, they found themselves in a circular courtyard. It was beautiful – warm sandstone tiles paved the floor and golden lanterns were hung around the walls. A gentle waterfall was washing down one of the inner walls and disappearing into a peaceful pond with pink water lilies floating upon it. Merida imagined it must be simply stunning at night time when the stars and moon would be shining in.

At the moment however it was midday and the sun shone down on them from the clear blue sky, its rays glinted off a golden statue that was placed right in the centre of the space before them.

The statue depicted a giant bed with a golden child sleeping upon it. The height of the bed from the floor to the top of the headboard was about the size of a man and it stretched out to roughly eight feet in length.

Beckoning Merida to follow him, he led her round the statue until they were standing behind the headboard. She noticed a swirling 'S' was engraved upon it, just low enough for Sandy to reach.

Placing his hands either side of the letter Sandy closed his eyes and a slight frown appeared on his face as if he were concentrating. Before her eyes the S seemed to shimmer and disappear, before changing its form.

As she watched, a series of images appeared on the bed. A shell bursting into particles of sand, an image of a small boy who grew into a man; then the man shifted into the image of a cloud and floating Z's. A silhouette of Sandy came and gathered up the cloud and Z's, holding them in his arms protectively. One final swirl of sand and a picture of the Sand Castle appeared before bursting into sparkling dust.

The dust gathered in the shape of a keyhole and Sandy took his hands off the bed. Conjuring a key out of his dream sand he turned to Merida with a querying eyebrow raised.

Merida nodded. "Yes Sandy, I'm ready."

He patted her arm encouragingly and proceeded to turn the key in the lock. A door appeared in the headboard and swung inwards into blackness.

* * *

Hiccups footsteps echoed as he ventured further into Pitch's cave, and yet they seemed strangely muffled - like the shadows were physically filling up the empty space and swallowing his movements. The grey tinged light coming from the scattered lanterns was not enough to disperse them.

His hand remained resting just behind Toothless' head, partly for courage and partly just to take comfort in each others presence.

"Well…isn't this a surprise?"

Hiccup and Toothless jerked their heads up and they spotted Pitch leering down at them from one of the higher platforms. Hiccup applied pressure on Toothless' neck to stop him from growling.

"I must apologise that Pandora is unable to greet you. She's out on an – errand." Pitch bared his teeth in a vicious grin.

He turned and walked away from the edge, disappearing from view.

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Dragon and rider whirled around to see Pitch emerge from the shadows behind them.

Hiccup registered the stray thought that went through his mind; he wished that Pitch would stop doing that – it was going to give him whiplash.

Taking a deep breath Hiccup stepped forward with confidence.

"I've come to make a deal with you."

Pitch went still, his expression fixed in surprise. "Oh? And what sort of deal would that be?"

"I'll give you the Gems we have so far if – and only if – you promise not to hurt my friends."

"Oooo no can do little man. You realise that once I unlock the box this world is going to full of delicious chaos – I can't guarantee the safety of a whole group of spirits; especially ones who have such an annoying habit of poking their noses into things."

"Well how about just one then?"

"One? Why Hiccup I'd never have thought you to be the selfish one. I'm quite delighted!"

"Not me" Hiccup shook his head. "Merida."

"Merida? You mean the archer?" Pitch pouted slightly in disappointment.

"Yes. I'll convince her to stay out of it I know I can." Hiccup lowered his eyes to the floor, adopting a meek look.

"You and Pandora are so powerful, there's no way we can win. I just want her safe…"

Pitch's eyes narrowed as he scrutinised him carefully. "Why would you give up so easily just for the safety of one girl?"

Hiccup's breath hitched and he decided to take a gamble. He raised his head and strode towards Pitch, Toothless following close behind. "You're the King of Nightmares and Fear Pitch; you know what I'm scared most of. Why don't you tell me?"

Pitch looked curiously at the boy who was staring up at him. He placed his hands together in an almost praying position and rested them against his lips thoughtfully.

"You know, I would be putting some serious thought into accepting your proposal…"

Suddenly Pitch's hand shot out to the side disappearing into the shadows. When he drew it back, clutched in his fist and squeaking desperately was – one of Tooth's fairies!

"IF I didn't know that you were LYING to me this whole time. Tut tut Hiccip. And I was just starting to like you…"

* * *

The entire place was completely dark. It felt suffocating and claustrophobic. After a few moments of trying to feel her way forwards with her hands Merida realised she wasn't going to get anywhere quickly unless she found some light.

Wait a minute! What was she thinking? Of course she had access to light! She smiled in relief and a little in embarrassment as she remembered that she could simply light her hair on fire to emit some light.

As the first flickers appeared she had a moment of joy as they revealed a dusty grey floor beneath her feet. No wait, not dust – sand. Grey sand with the odd rock littered here and there.

She forced her hair to burn brighter, harder, trying to extend the small circle of light she had managed. But though she extended her flames to their highest height and had them burn with their greatest ferocity, she could manage no more than a tiny circle around her. The shadows were just too thick and the light was swallowed by the darkness. She sighed and willed her hair to reduce its powerful flames.

But nothing happened. She tried again, but they would not shrink – if anything the flames were growing bigger and wilder! In a panic she tried to put them out completely, even if it would plunge her back into darkness - but to no avail.

To her horror the flames, for the first time ever, began to feel hot. They got brighter and brighter, the fire almost deafening her with its roar. Her scalp was burning!

She clutched at her hair in a panic trying to tear it out, but pulled back her hands with a cry as they were burnt. Falling to her knees she screamed, flashes of the last time she had burnt to death flickering before her eyes.

Just when she began to think she couldn't take it any more, she would either die or go mad, the burning abruptly stopped.

As if suddenly smothered, her hair dulled down back to its normal manageable flicker and resumed its regular comforting warmth.

She remained kneeling on the floor, panting, eyes still wide in terror. She hesitantly lifted one hand to feel her hair. She tapped her curls gently, ready to pull her hand back if it burnt, but everything was back to normal.

Her breathing began to revert to its ordinary state and her racing heartbeat slowed.

Then she heard a growl behind her.

* * *

Realising their cover was blown Hiccup burst into action.

"NOW!" he yelled, ducking.

Leaping over his head and transforming to her normal size, Rapunzel (who had been hiding in Hiccup's saddle bag) whipped out her hair. Catching Pitch by surprise, she managed to tie his arms to his sides, using her hair as rope. Tooth's fairy pecked Pitch's hand so he would release her and flew out of the way.

A hole opened up just behind them and Bunny, Jack and North leaped into the cave to join the fight. They rushed forward to quickly defeat the trapped King of Nightmares.

Pitch smirked. "You didn't think I was here alone did you?"

A wave of Nightmares rushed forward from the shadows behind him, charging at the spirits. Rapunzel shrieked and ducked as they washed past her, but she kept a tight hold onto her hair, making sure it remained taut.

Jack managed to nimbly duck past the oncoming tide of Nightmares, trusting in his friends to keep them occupied as he flew forward to help Rapunzel.

Slashing his staff through a stray Nightmare and reducing it to black dust, he then twirled it and held it firmly pointed at Pitch. Feeling the frost build up beneath his fingers, he glared at Pitch; trying to convey the hatred he felt for him in a single look. It crossed his mind for a split second that something was odd but he couldn't put his finger on it-

Suddenly, in the split second that Jack was distracted, Pitch managed to work his arm free. He reached forward and grabbed the Rapunzel's hair, wrenching her towards him.

As she fell in front of Jack's aim, his eyes widened in shock and he managed to re-direct his staff at the last second to shoot the ceiling above them. As dust and debris rained down upon them, Pitch used the moment to work his other hand free and grabbed Rapunzel from behind.

One arm looped round her neck like a vice; leaving her choking as she struggled against him, whilst his other arm snaked its way up to her face. His hand melted into a black mist and transformed into a polished ebony knife which he proceeded to hold against her cheek.

The moment she felt the sharp blade against her skin she froze, her eyes going wide as she struggled to breathe.

Jack was frozen with indecision. He could not take his eyes off Rapunzel's as they widened in fear. But what could he do fast enough to stop Pitch hurting her first?

"Oh dear, you're in quite the pickle aren't you Jack?" Pitch mocked, rocking the knife against Rapunzel's cheek in a taunting manner.

"What to do, what to do? Should I kill her perhaps? Or maybe just maim her? Would you still like her Jack if I cut her pretty face?" Pitch crooned in a sing song voice.

Jack felt sick to his stomach. Then he noticed Rapunzel gazing at him earnestly as if trying to get his attention. She looked down at her hands which were still grasping Pitch's arm, trying to pull it away from her throat. He followed her gaze. She had three fingers held up.

"I still believe we could be great friends you and I, Jack. Think of all the fun you could have without rules. Think of the glorious chaos!"

Two.

"You know it's rude to ignore someone when they're speaking to you, especially if they have a knife at your girlfriend's throat." Pitch drawled in a bored manner.

One.

Rapunzel simultaneously trod on Pitch's foot and thrust her elbow into his stomach with all the force she could muster. In his shock he let go and she rushed forwards out of his reach, but not before he sliced open her cheek with his knife.

Making the most of the moment Jack re-aimed his staff but Pitch threw a ball of shadow at Rapunzel's retreating back. It knocked her into Jack and sent them both tumbling to the floor as Pitch faded back into the darkness.

* * *

The growl came again, but louder.

Standing slowly, Merida turned, steeling herself for something that, in her heart of hearts, she had expected to see the moment she had stepped into the test.

"Mordu…." She breathed as the face of the grizzled, scarred bear emerged from the shadows.

She fired an arrow at his face which merely bounced off the beast's toughened skin. A part of her had known it would be useless, but god dammit she had to try something!

Turning swiftly she began to run in the opposite direction. Only being able to see a slight way in front of her she kept her eyes focused on the floor, barely managing to avoid the rocks that littered her path and loomed in front of her at the last second.

The spared a glance over her shoulder; she could no longer see him, but the growls were coming from everywhere. Where was he? Which way should she go?!

She twisted and turned, hoping against hope that she wouldn't end up just running straight into him.

A paw flashed out at her, catching her arm. She screamed, tumbling to the floor. Clutching her bleeding wound she scrambled to her feet and took off again, not daring to stay still even for a moment.

Suddenly another noise was added to the echoing growls, this one far more terrifying and she felt a pain lance through her heart.

It was her brothers. And they were screaming.

HAMISH? HARRIS? HUBERT?

Her father roared in pain. Her mother shrieked in terror.

Oh god, what could she do? WHAT COULD SHE DO?!

It was as if her mind was stuck on a loop, nearly frozen in fear.

Her foot caught on one of the treacherous rocks and she went flying to the floor. Stunned with shock she lay there for a few moments, before spinning her body round to lie on her back and look at the monster that was slowly emerging from the darkness.

But it wasn't Mordu. It was her mother. She was in bear form, just like when Merida had accidentally cast the spell upon her, but as Merida looked into her eyes she knew that this did not make her safe.

They were eyes with no thought or love behind them. They were the black eyes of wildness, instinct – and hunger.

"Mum? Mum please…" Merida begged, but her pleas fell on deaf ears as the creature moved towards her, teeth bared and drooling.

She screwed her eyes closed – she could not bear to see her mother like this, she refused to acknowledge that her death would come this way.

She could still hear her brothers screaming though. The only time she had ever heard them cry out like that had been in the fire. But she had saved them then – she had saved them!

She remembered re-living it all and talking about it with Rapunzel.

"I saved him, and no one can ever take tha' away from me…I didnae want to be a Season until I got me memories back. Then, even though they brought heart ache and pain too, they reminded me who I truly was and gave me back me purpose. Courage isn't about not being scared, it's about facing yer fears _despite_them."

Her eyes flew open. That's it! My centre!

She crawled up to her knees and held out her hands to the approaching bear.

"I'll admit it, I'm scared. Yer haunting me with what I fear most; losing my family and hurting them. But I won't let fear stop me. I made the mistake of letting you overwhelm me, but not any more. Because yer know why? My centre is COURAGE and courage is admitting when you are wrong and moving forward."

The bear was much closer now, but slowing in its approach. She could see herself reflected in its hungry eyes.

"Yes, I was the one who cast that spell on me mum, but I also _saved _her, and we were closer for it. I stood up to tradition so I and the other clan first-borns could have the chance of finding real _love!" _she exclaimed passionately.

"Because…because…what I truly fear….is that no one will love me…for just being me…" she drifted off in realisation.

The bear had halted mere inches away from Merida's face, its breath hot on her skin. They gazed into each others eyes for a few moments.

Then, slowly but surely, its black eyes turned back into the understanding ones of her mother. It whined gently and tenderly licked her cheek before slowly backing away.

Looking at her with a gaze to convey the importance of its actions, the bear lowered its head to place something on the floor with its mouth and then melted into shadow.

"Bye mum…" Merida whispered, blinking away the sudden tears that threatened to run down her cheeks.

Looking at the object the bear had put on the floor, her breath hitched. It was the Gem! Scrambling forward on her hands and knees she reached out to take it.

Her fingers curled around it firmly. Then something grabbed her wrist.

* * *

The sounds of battle echoed around them. North's battle cries, Hiccup and Bunny's shouts and the roar of Toothless as he fired plasma blasts into the crowd of Nightmares. It was a desperate attempt to keep them from being overwhelmed, one that was quickly becoming obsolete.

Jack quickly rolled himself and Rapunzel to the side to avoid another rock that came crashing down on the spot they had just vacated. Though they had tried to move further away from their comrades, Hiccup and Toothless' fighting style led to a lot of damaged structures and falling rubble that nearly hit their friends.

Another plasma blast hit a wall near them but Rapunzel and Jack didn't have time to worry about it – a Nightmare was thundering towards them, its hooves bearing down on them at an incredible rate.

"Fuck!" Jack realised there was no way they were going to be able to move in time. He moved his body over Rapunzel to try and shield her from most of the damage when a blur of green and blue flew past him.

"Take that!" He heard Tooth scream as her razor sharp wings cut through the Nightmare like it was tissue paper.

"Welcome to the party!" Jack called over to her, jumping to his feet and pulling Rapunzel with him.

"Jack!" Rapunzel screamed pulling him out of the way. Toothless and Hiccup came shooting past them, knocked out of flight by something on the other side of the cave, and crashed into the wall.

Though Rapunzel's quick reaction had saved him from being crushed by the dragon, one of Toothless's claws had accidentally caught Jack's arm on the way past and torn three ragged scratch marks into his skin.

Ignoring the pain, Jack grabbed Rapunzel's hand and they ran over to check on Hiccup who was climbing off Toothless groaning and checking that the dragon was ok.

Hiccup winced as he tried to stand on his own, spitting blood into the floor. Bruised and worse for wear the other Guardians came to gather around them. Jack surveyed their group.

North and Bunny were both bruised and battered. Bunny appeared to have been caught by a falling rock from the look of the wound on his leg, whilst North was sporting a black eye and torn coat. Tooth, having joined the fight relatively late was doing a lot better than most, but he could see patches of blood where feathers had been torn out by the gnashing teeth of Nightmares. All in all, they were in pretty bad shape.

"I don't understand it…" Jack whispered in confusion. "I knew they would be strong, but not this strong! Pandora isn't even here, why are we having so much trouble defeating him? Sandy and Merida are missing but with Hiccup, Toothless and Rapunzel, surely this should be making a difference?" His voice ended on a note of desperation.

"There's something different about the Nightmares" Bunny panted, catching his breath and keeping a wary eye on the ones that had begun to surround them.

"They're not just made from nightmare sand any more – I bet Pandora has added something else to the blighters."

"Very perceptive Bunny. And here I thought you were all brawn and no brain" The Nightmares in front of them parted to reveal Pitch, smiling at them in inanely.

He stepped forward, petting one of the Nightmares as he did so. "Do you like our little creation? Nightmare sand is all well and good, but in the end it is only a manifestation of fear and the desire to create more fear on top of that.

To create something _truly _wonderful, you need to add a little madness and the desire to cause _pain. _After all…" he eyed the red blood dripping from Rapunzel's cheek and Jack's arm, the purple bruising around North's eye and Hiccup's face and the scattered tufts of Bunny's fur and Tooth's feathers littering the floor "there is such beauty and _colour_ in pain don't you think?"

"Oh I've had enough of this" Bunny said in frustration and launched his boomerang into the air with a powerful throw.

Pitch flinched but then realised the boomerang had gone past him, missing him by quite some distance.

"Is that the best you can do Bunny? That was no where near me; you must be losing your touch." He taunted.

"What makes you think I was aiming for you?" Bunny smirked. Pitch's eyes went wide as the reason for Tooth's earlier absence became clear. All around the cave, she and her fairies had been laying out Bunny's exploding eggs in a specific circle – right in the pathway of his now spinning boomerang!

As it hit each egg they exploded, destroying any of the Nightmares near them and sending the others into a panic. As the remaining Nightmares stampeded, they accidentally ran into Pitch who screamed in fury.

"Rapunzel is it nearly ready?" Hiccup murmured to her.

"Nearly" she answered, staring at a spot on the ceiling.

"Idiot creatures!" Pitch screamed, clawing at the Nightmares with her hands.

Wait – her?

The group watched in shock and horror as before their eyes the image of Pitch appeared to melt and flicker. For a split second they saw the real person who had been taunting and baiting them, and that person was not Pitch Black.

Spotting their looks of astonishment and noticing that her robes were flickering between black and purple, Pandora laughed and removed the disguise completely.

"Ooops. I guess the cat's out of the bag" she narrowed her eyes at them.

"Your eyes! I knew there was something off about you – your eyes are green!" Jack shouted, furious with himself for being too distracted to notice earlier.

"Rapunzel?" Hiccup asked, an urgent question in his voice.

"Yes – now!"

Suddenly an almighty crack was heard above them. Everyone looked up to see a shard of sunlight burst through the ceiling, slicing through the shadows. Tearing open the roof of the cave, several green vines were working their way through, pushing and tearing open the earth above them to let the light through.

Sweat ran down Rapunzel's face mixing with the blood on her cheek as she focused on making the plants move such a great deal of earth.

"Jack, go!" Hiccup ordered.

Swinging his staff in front of them, Jack conjured a clear block of glittering, faceted ice right in the pathway of the beam of light.

As the light made contact with it, it shone through and bounced off the different reflective surfaces to shoot off in different directions to every corner of the cave.

Hiccup heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was working – the magnified rays of light pierced and destroyed any Nightmare it came in contact with, providing the perfect distraction.

"Time to get going" North boomed, and threw one of his portals, calling for the North Pole. As they all bundled through Jack made sure Rapunzel went ahead of him and spared a glance back at the chaos they had left.

He was unnerved to see that Pandora was merely standing calmly in the midst of the Nightmares screaming and stampeding, watching them with an eerie smile and making no attempt to stop their escape.

Catching his eye she winked and blew him a kiss. The portal closed.

They had escaped in tact – mostly. But if that had been Pandora the whole time – where on earth was Pitch?!

* * *

Merida tugged her arm, desperately trying to wrench it free from the shadow that gripped it. Then a voice whispered in her ear that sent her blood running cold.

"Hello Merida. You didn't think you could come and play in my shadows without me knowing did you?" Pitch smirked.

She doubled her struggles to get away, but his shadows wrapped around her body, holding her fast.

"I'm sure you think I'm here to relieve you of that little Gem there, but as much as I would love to I'm afraid it will only raise suspicion if it goes missing…still, they will all be in our hands soon enough. Instead, I have a gift for you from a dear lady friend of mine."

He placed a necklace round her neck with a dark crystal hanging from it. "Do take good care of it wont you?" he smirked as her eyes went blank.

He released his hold on her and allowed her to fade from his shadowy realm of nightmares back to Sandy's castle. His eyes gleamed in triumph. It had caused him a great deal of trouble finding a crystal powerful enough to hold Pandora's spell, but if it worked…

He bared his sharp teeth in a vicious grin.

* * *

Sandy sighed in relief when he saw the sand begin to pour out of the keyhole in the now-sealed door.

As the sand piled up on the floor it began to shift, and slowly transformed into the image of Merida kneeling on the floor. As the sand fell away, she slowly lifted her head and blinked.

Sand rushed over to her and helped pull her up to her feet. He gazed at her torn arm in concern, a question mark appearing over his head.

Looking down at him calmly Merida said "I'm fine Sandy. Everything went to plan." She smiled reassuringly and held out the Gem.

He beamed at her and gave her two thumbs up, before conjuring the image of a compass and pointing to the North.

"Yes we'd better go meet the others at the Pole; they should be finished at the cave by now." She agreed, and followed him out of the courtyard.

The necklace hanging from her neck glittered threateningly.

* * *

**Author's Note – Phew this is my longest chapter yet! I would have cut it down into separate chapters but I felt that everything in here needed to go together. **

**I also have a confession. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to fight scenes! This was so hard! I feel quite happy with what I ended up with though; I tried my hardest to make the fight interesting and varied, but apologies if it's clumsy or not exciting enough.**

**And I just wanted to say a thank you to those of you who have stayed with the story so far, especially those who have left such wonderful messages of encouragement and support. Some special names to mention in particular for leaving me regular messages or taking the time to give me in-depth reviews –**

**From deviantart – FictionLover987, Ask-TheBig-Four, Freaky-Adorabeezle, LadyofEyes, PopLottie**

**From – Eva Maverx, Lilly Sunkiss, FrozenLanterns, sappheiros, FloraIrmaTylee, bug349,**

**From tumblr – thestoryofmylife3, daydreamerssmile, random-scraps-of-paper20, programmedthisway**

**Even if you aren't mentioned above I just want you all to know that I read through and treasure each and every message you send, and they honestly make my day. I know I am probably repeating myself when I tell you how much of a buzz it gives me reading your comments, but I feel that I don't want to just ignore them, and I can't think of any other way to thank you for taking the time to leave a message than blurt out my gratitude! Anyway, sorry for the rambling!**

**I'd say we are probably past the half way point of the story now (though this thing keeps getting away from me and growing longer every time I sit down to write it lol).**


	22. Chapter 22

The spirits were scattered around North's Globe room in various states of health – some standing, some sitting on chairs, others just lying on the floor in exhaustion.

Yeti's were rushing to and fro checking that everyone was ok, and providing bandages for those waiting for Rapunzel to get round to them.

The elves were trying to help by bringing plates of "emergency cookies" but only really succeeded in getting under foot.

Rapunzel's cut cheek had almost healed itself by now; all that was left was a shiny pink scar that had already begun to fade. The moment they had arrived back at the North pole, she had taken a few moments to catch her breath and then immediately began rushing round to heal the others.

Seeing that Hiccup was still having a bit of trouble breathing from where he had been thrown against the wall, she made her way over to him. He was pacing to and fro, despite the pain the movement must be causing him.

"Hiccup…"

"It was so stupid, I should have thought that they might have done that…though how was I supposed to know Pandora could shape change?! Do you think it was enough Rapunzel? Do you think Merida got out in time? What if Pitch got her? Shouldn't she be back by now? Argh I should have thought of a better plan-"

"Hiccup!" Rapunzel interrupted his panicked rambling sharply, causing him to halt his pacing and look at her.

"You. Sit. There." She said firmly, gently pushing him into a chair. "I need to fix your ribs and I can't do that if you keep walking."

"I'm sorry Punz" he sighed, wincing as he lifted his arms to allow her to wrap her hair around his waist. "I just keep thinking that if only I'd have planned things differently we would have got out of there in a better state…and I worry that Merida isn't here yet…" he gazed dropped down to his lap.

"The important thing is that we did get out." Rapunzel admonished him as her hair began to glow brighter. "I don't think all of us would ever have made it if it wasn't for your plan Hiccup; we managed to stall them much longer than I thought we could and we all made it back in relatively one piece. That's all down to _you." _she paused, tilting her head until it was almost upside down to make eye contact with him and smiled encouragingly.

"And as for Merida, she will be absolutely fine; I'm _sure_ of it. It's quite a way from Sandy's Castle to the Workshop, and she can't just teleport as that will leave Sandy to come back by himself. So they will be coming back together on his sand cloud and it might take them a bit longer, but they WILL be coming back. Ok?"

Hiccup smiled back at her gratefully. "Yes….yes you're right, I know that. I just…want to see her and make sure she's ok you know? When I think about her being hurt I…." he trailed off.

Rapunzel's eyes flickered over to Jack on the other side of the room. "Yeah…I know…" she said softly, her eyebrows frowning in concern as she spotted the blood running down Jack's arm.

Hearing a small chuckle she looked back at Hiccup. He was giving her a knowing grin. "I think the worst of me is fixed if you want to head over to him."

Rapunzel blushed slightly and began un-wrapping her hair from his newly healed body. "Thanks Hiccup. I'll come back to sort the bruises on your face in a bit, and I'll have a look at Toothless' paw too"

He nodded gratefully and waved her to go with a shooing motion; she turned to make her way over to Jack.

He was sitting on the window seat, staring out of the window and clutching his arm with the bandages a yeti had brought him.

She watched him for a few moments, trying to decipher the expression on his face. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Frustrated maybe?

She hesitantly touched his shoulder. He turned to look at her, and as his eyes fell on her scar an emotion flickered over his face, too quick to catch.

"Your turn" Rapunzel said shyly, holding up her hair.

"It's ok Punz, you should see to Hiccup and Toothless first" he said gruffly.

"I have; well I've dealt with the worst anyway. Toothless has hurt his paw a bit, but it's nothing too bad so I'm coming back round to that in a minute. Your wound might get infected though."

"So might Bunny's. You better go look at his leg; my wound is a lot cleaner than his." He refused to make eye contact with her and turned to look back at the window.

"Oh….ok then…" Rapunzel trailed off. The flowers in her hair faded slightly, tinting with blue, and feeling a little hurt she went to help Bunny. She didn't notice Jack watch her reflection in the window as she walked away.

He sighed. He didn't deserve Rapunzel's care. How many times had he failed to protect her in there?! First when he had aimed at Pitch/Pandora and nearly shot her instead, then when she had been captured he had been frozen by indecision and failed to help her. She had had to get herself out of that mess because he had been so useless, and then she had nearly got her throat cut! If that knife had been any lower…he shivered.

Suddenly the doors burst open and a welcome sight jolted him out of his morbid thoughts.

"Sandy! Merida! You're ok!"

Hiccup and Toothless were the first to rush over. Toothless gave the Sandman a lick on the face before grimacing and promptly spitting out a mouthful of sand. Sandy laughed silently, scratching the affectionate dragon under the chin.

Hiccup had rushed over to Merida and grasped her in a hug before remembering himself and releasing her as if she was on fire (which she wasn't for once).

Flushing red, he swung his arms by his side awkwardly but could not tear his eyes from her, as if not quite able to believe she was ok. His eyes landed on her wound.

"Merida, your arm…" his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"What? Oh tha'. It's nothin'." She shrugged.

"It looks pretty bad" he said reaching out for her arm, but she pulled it away.

"It's _nothin' _Hiccup, I'm fine." She said with a hint of irritation to her voice. "I'll get Rapunzel to look at it in a minute"

"Oh. Ok, sure…." Hiccup trailed off awkwardly.

"Merida!" Rapunzel squealed, rushing over and giving the other girl a hug. Merida looked a bit uncomfortable and patted her awkwardly on the back.

"Took you long enough didn't it hot head?" Jack teased, strolling up behind them all, his staff slung over his shoulder.

"Was mission successful?" North's deep voice asked as he came over to welcome them back.

"Aye" Merida nodded, holding out the Gem.

"Wonderful! Let's give to Rapunzel to combine with other Gems, yes?" North beamed.

Rapunzel held out her hand with a beam of excitement – they finally had the last one!

Merida hesitated a moment, her hand gripping the Gem tightly. Then her fingers relaxed and she reluctantly dropped it into the other girl's hand.

Carefully, Rapunzel reached into her satchel and pulled out the other three pieces of Gems that had now been combined. One space was left to complete the gemstone.

Looking up at the others, who by now had all gathered round, Rapunzel waited for permission. North nodded and, slowly, Rapunzel slotted the final Gem into place.

A bright white light flashed as the separate pieces become whole then – nothing.

The group stood deadly still, waiting for something to happen. Minutes went by. Then Bunny broke the silence.

"Is that it? I expected it to be…_more_ somehow."

"Something isn't right" Tooth fretted.

"Something's _missing!_" Merida spat angrily. "I can _feel _it!"

The others looked at her in surprise.

"Actually, Merida's right" Hiccup noted. "I hadn't noticed it, but now she points it out...it feels…empty?"

"What did MiM's riddle say again?" Rapunzel asked North.

They waited while he went to fetch the book. Opening it on the correct page they poured over it once more.

.

**A Gem you'll need for every key;**

**To find them look inside of thee. **

**A dagger stripped down to its source**

**When joined becomes a deadly force.**

**.**

Hiccup groaned. "Oh the Gods must be laughing at me! How did I not see that?!"

"Err…care to share with the rest of the class?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "See what?"

"_A Gem you'll need for every key_…It doesn't say the Gem _is _the key, it's that it is needed _for_ the key. Like something to hold or contain it I'm guessing."

"Oh!" Rapunzel gasped, but there was a tone to her voice that made it clear she wasn't just reacting to Hiccup's revelation.

"What?! What else?!" Jack's head whipped round to face her.

"_A_ _dagger stripped down to its source, when joined becomes a deadly force_….Tooth, what was the dagger made from again?"

"Err…a moonbeam from Manny, fire from lightning, tears from the sun and the light from Nightlight's soul…" Tooth recited hesitantly.

"Oh I see!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Will you two stop doing that?! I feel like the kid sitting in the corner with the dunce hat! Just _explain _already!" Jack exclaimed irritably.

Hiccup and Rapunzel looked at each other.

"The things we need to make the dagger – the riddle had told us all along." Rapunzel began explaining.

"The Gem's were needed for the key, yes, but only as a storage container; or a way to combine the four elements." Hiccup continued.

"We need to find the four items that made the dagger to begin with, combine them with the Gem, and only then will it become the key."

The other Seasons and Guardians stood in stunned silence.

As the information began to register some looked thoughtful, others perplexed, some just plain frustrated.

"So we're not done searching?" Jack said in exasperation. "We still need to find MORE things to make this blasted key?!"

"And this time we really don't have a clue as where to look…" Hiccup said sombrely.

The group sighed collectively, and Rapunzel put the Gem back in her satchel. Merida's eyes followed it closely.

Suddenly, the stress and weariness from their various fights seemed to hit them all at once and the energy seemed to drain from the room.

"I think we could all do with a break" Tooth said gently, sensing the mood. "It's not so bad, we're already half way there! We've managed to keep the Gems safely away from Pandora and Pitch, and there's nothing they can do without them; it's not all bad!" she said cheerfully.

"I guess you're right Tooth" Jack smiled weakly "but yeah, a little rest sounds like a great idea at the moment."

The group mumbled various sounds of agreement, and began to drift to different places of the workshop to recuperate and get their heads around what they had just learnt.

Jack wandered back to his window seat and collapsed on it, pulling his knees up under his chin and stared out of the window. Four more items to collect….would this never end? And how do you collect the light from a soul anyway?! Or any of the other things for that matter!

After a little while he felt the seat beneath him bounce slightly as Merida jumped up beside him.

"So Frost, it looks like we have a matching pair" she held out her arm to compare their scratches.

"Ouch, that looks nasty" Jack winced. "What caused that?"

"A bear" Merida shrugged. "But nothin' I can't handle. I hear yours was from Toothless – yer lucky Rapunzel pulled ye out of the way in time or ye would have been flat as a pancake!"

Jack's eyes flickered over to Rapunzel who was currently in a conversation with Bunny as she finished healing his leg. He dropped his gaze sadly.

"Yeah…I was pretty useless in there. I…I nearly got Rapunzel hurt – badly." He whispered, looking up at Merida with his eyes full of the desperate need to confess his guilt.

She frowned. "Well that's not how I see it." She explained matter-of-factly.

"It's not? But I nearly shot her with my ice! And I couldn't save her from Pandora…"

"But she got herself into those situations Jack" Merida said earnestly. "In fact, if you think about it, if she had been more careful she would never have put you in those situations!" She sighed. "I hate to say it, but don't you think Rapunzel is a little…I dunno…_delicate _to be fighting? I mean look at her…" she gestured over to the gentle girl.

Jack looked at Rapunzel as she laughed slightly at something Bunny said. The laughter shook her slim body – so small she could so easily be picked up and thrown about like a ragdoll.

She brushed a lock of golden hair from her face, drawing his attention to the scar on her face. Almost completely faded now but it marred her beautiful pale skin – skin so soft and delicate, so easily hurt.

Watching his expression carefully, Merida continued. "She is obviously more of a healer than a fighter. You have to admit she is a little naïve too; now that isn't a bad thing, we love her for it – but it does make her vulnerable to attack. Pandora was able to take advantage of her so easily in the cave. If Rapunzel was a bit more, well, _suited _for this sort of thing, she wouldn't have gotten in your way or been caught so easily."

She sighed dramatically. "I only say this because I'm concerned for her. Don't you think it's dangerous to allow her to continue to fight? I'm worried she will get seriously hurt, and let's face it, none of us have her healing ability to help her if that ever happens. Don't you think so too?"

Jack remained gazing at Rapunzel as she moved over to heal Toothless, a pained expression on his face. He remained still for quite a while, obviously wrestling with himself, and then nodded ever so slightly.

Merida touched his shoulder in a sign of support. "It's for the best. And I hope you don't mind me saying Jack, but I think it would be best coming from you. She trusts you the most and I'm sure she will listen to what you have to say."

Hopping down off the window seat Merida strolled back over to the others, leaving Jack with his thoughts as he turned to look back out the window.

Merida's sly smile faltered for a moment as she walked away from Jack. His expression had looked so sad...what had she been saying?! She didn't mean any of those things! Why did she say that?!

She halted and began to turn back but the necklace around her neck glittered darkly. A wash of numbness flooded through her. She shook her head and the smirk resumed its place on her lips as she continued to walk away.

"Merida!" She twisted her head to see Hiccup hurrying over to intercept her.

"Yes?" she replied haughtily.

"I um…can I speak to you for a moment?" He said, looking at his shoes and trying not to blush.

"Go on then." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Oh, uh, not here. Um, come with me to the other room?"

Merida gave him a querying look, but gestured for him to lead the way. Hiccup turned around and blew out a silent breath of air as if preparing himself for something. He waved for Toothless to remain where he was, and led Merida into a side room.

* * *

Jack watched Hiccup and Merida leave but was then distracted by a quiet yet insistent cough to his left. He turned to find Rapunzel was back, hair in her hands and a determined look on her face.

"It's your turn Jack. I've done everyone else now except Merida, and I need to see your arm before it gets worse" she said firmly.

He nodded numbly and held it out to her. A relieved expression crossed her features – she hadn't expected him to give in so easy.

Kneeling next to him on the window seat, she gently held his arm and began wrapping her hair around it.

"Rapunzel…"

"Hmm?" she replied, focusing on her task.

"I need to talk to you. It's – it's about the fight."

"Oh?" she said, looking up at him with her big green eyes. He avoided looking at them – he didn't think he could go through with what he needed to say if he did.

"Well…don't you think you would be happier doing what you are better suited for? Healing I mean?" he began, recalling Merida's words.

"I don't know what you mean…" Rapunzel replied, looking at him in confusion.

"It's just…" he brushed his free hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration. "These fights are only going to get worse – get more dangerous. We barely came out of it this time and that was when Pitch was elsewhere. Next time we're likely to face them at the same time and who knows what could happen? I just think you'd be safer if you remained at the Workshop and waited for us"

"You don't think I can fight?!" Rapunzel said, clearly hurt.

"No! Well, yes. I mean, I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"I can handle myself perfectly well Jack Frost, I don't need YOU to tell me where I can and cannot go!" Rapunzel huffed, the flowers in her hair starting to tinge red with anger.

"I'm not trying to tell you where you can go, I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"Because you don't believe I can look after myself! You think I'm useless, is that it?!"

"No! No, I just think you should leave the fighting to us-"

"To more capable people you mean?! How COULD you Jack?!" She wrenched her hair back from his now healed arm in anger. "I thought – I thought you _believed _in me. Like I believed in you…" she blinked back tears.

"Rapunzel…" he reached for her.

"No." She flinched away from him and jumped off the seat. "This is my world too, and I have as much right to fight for it as everyone else. I am DONE waiting behind…I spent an entire lifetime staying away from the world on behalf of someone I loved, and no matter how much I care for you, I'm NEVER doing that again." She bundled her hair up in her arms and sprinted out of the room, struggling not to cry.

Jack stood up and reached out his arm to her, but could think of no words to say. How did it all go so wrong? He just wanted to protect her…

A shadow loomed over him.

"What. Did. You. DO?!" Bunny exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Jack backed up but couldn't go far as the back of his legs hit the window seat.

"I…I just wanted to keep her safe! I told her I thought she should stay here, away from the next fight…"

"You what?!" Bunny shook his head and looked at him with a mixture of disgust and disappointment. "I thought you were better than that mate. You've only known her for a few days, what gives YOU the right to tell her what she can and can't do? I don't like the idea of her being in danger either, but you know what you do for those you care about? You _believe _in them, and you make sure you're at their side to look after them, no matter where they choose to go. You, out of all people, should know the importance of being believed in."

Jack crumbled under the weight of Bunny's words. He was right. He had no defence against it. Now he thought about it, it was only his fear of Rapunzel getting hurt that had made him say those things anyway; he didn't _really _think she wasn't capable. He had just been desperately searching for any reason to put her out of harm's reach.

Jack couldn't take the judging looks he was being given. Bunny glared down at him and he could see the disappointed looks from Tooth, Sandy and North who had heard the whole thing. He needed to get away for a moment. He needed air.

Spinning on his heel he clambered back onto the window seat and shoved the windows open. He dived out, calling for the wind to catch him and carry him away as fast as it could manage.

* * *

Opening the door for her, Hiccup waited until Merida had gone in and then closed the door gently behind them.

"Well?" Merida watched him, her arms crossed and looking at him with a wary expression on her face.

He leaned against the door for a moment, before taking a deep breath and pushing himself off it to go towards her.

"Merida I…there's been something I've wanted to say to you but…but I didn't quite know how to put it." He began hesitantly, trying and failing to fight the redness that was appearing on his cheeks.

"When we met, I'll admit you intimidated me quite a bit" he chuckled nervously. "You were so confident and self-assured, you have this aura around you that is commanding and powerful. You're one of the most amazing spirits I have ever met. As I've got to know you over these last few days though, I've realised you're so much more than that. You're caring and protective, you're funny and carefree, you're adventurous and passionate. You show me that anything is possible if you're brave enough to try, so….so that's what I'm trying to do now. Be brave and go for what I want." He looked at her nervously. She didn't say a word.

He gulped. "_Oh god, I can't tell her! What if she laughs at me?!" _He felt Toothless reassuring him in his mind, but not without a large amount of exasperation directed at him to 'get on with it'. _"Ok, ok bud. I guess it's_ _now or never_" he thought.

"Merida…I think I'm falling for you. I haven't cared for anyone this much since…well, since I was alive. You make me _feel _alive. And I was wondering if…you felt the same way?"

He looked at her, his eyes desperately trying to pick up any sign of her feelings from her expression and body language. Well, she wasn't laughing. But she didn't exactly look that encouraging either.

Merida slowly uncrossed her arms, an odd expression on her face. She looked like she was fighting with herself. Then a darkness fell across her features and she looked at him in quiet disgust.

"This is what ye brought me in here fer?" She asked in disdain. "To talk about yer puppy love? Dunnae you think we have _better _things to do Hiccup?"

He was stunned. He had never been certain of her affections, but he had thought that perhaps, she had liked him at least a little…Even if she didn't, he had never expected her to react like this.

"The whole world is at stake, everyone is trying their hardest to fight against Pandora and Pitch, an' all ye can do is think about yer love life? If you think I could care about someone like that ye are very much mistaken" she sneered.

"Ye can sit there 'planning' all ye like, but what do ye contribute to this fight really? Jack and the others, they were in the thick of that fight risking life and limb. You meanwhile – I mean, what can you do without Toothless really? He's the one really doing the fighting; without him – yer nothing."

Hiccup felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart. Not only had she crushed any hopes he had of her feeling the same, she had made it clear she felt almost the exact opposite! And on top of that she had brought out one of his deepest fears – that he was useless without Toothless – and waved it right in his face. Did everyone think this? That he was useless in a fight?

Merida sighed. "I didn't want to say this so bluntly Hiccup, but someone had to say it. Don't you think yer just in the way? You don't even have a weapon, and your only injuries are from where you got in the way and managed to be crushed by your own dragon. We're past the point when we can be delicate and protect your feelings."

"You – you really think all that?" Hiccup gasped, feeling like the air had been taken from his lungs.

"Not just me. But the others are too nice to say anything. Even Jack, and he was out there fighting his hardest to protect Rapunzel from the situation YOU had put her in. Can you imagine how angry he must be? You know how much he cares about her, and _your _plan almost got her throat slit open. But no, he's far too nice to say anything. If I was going to fall in love with anyone, now _there's _a guy I could go for" she added, twisting the knife.

Hiccup couldn't take anymore. He felt sick to his stomach. He stumbled backwards, reaching for the door handle and flung himself into the hallway. He scrambled back into the main room and leaped onto Toothless.

"_Get me out of here."_

Toothless did not question him; he could sense the distress and hurt radiating from his friend, and immediately sought to take him away from whatever was causing it.

Hiccup saw that the large double windows were already open. Dragon and Rider sprinted to the exit and threw themselves out and into the wind, calling for it to carry them far away.

The cries of the others calling after him were soon lost.


	23. Chapter 23

Jack wasn't really paying attention to where he was flying; all he knew was that he needed some space.

He floated lazily on the wind, allowing it to take him where it wanted. He sighed, running a hand through his already windswept hair.

How on earth was he going to make it up to Rapunzel? The way she had looked at him… He tightened his grip on his staff in frustration, hating himself as he remembered the pain in her eyes.

Suddenly the wind seemed to drop out from beneath him, sending him tumbling towards the earth before his own powers of flight kicked in to stop him landing face first in the dirt.

"Woah!" he held his arms out to the side, waving them slightly to regain his balance. Just managing to avoid some telephone poles he came to a rather rough landing in a quiet urban street. He stumbled slightly but managed to remain upright.

"Sheesh what was all that about?" he grumbled looking up at the sky. Suddenly, looking around, he realised where he was.

"Wait…this is Burgess! You brought me home!" he thanked the wind happily.

He hadn't thought about it before, but now he was here, he knew this was exactly where he needed to be. His heart automatically felt lighter; there was something very comforting about being here.

He swung his staff over his shoulder and jumped up onto a nearby rooftop.

"I might as well visit Jamie and Sophie while I'm here – it will be good to see how the kids are doing" he smiled to himself. Not to mention that it would take his mind off certain other issues for a while.

Sprinting over the roofs, flinging himself over and around chimneys, he finally hopped down into Jamie's garden.

"Jamie!" he called up to the boy's window. "Jamie, you home?"

He heard a muffled thud from inside the house, and then the sound of someone running before a small face pressed up against the window.

"MOM! CAN I GO PLAY OUTSIDE?!" He heard Jamie yell.

Jack grinned and leaned against the fence to wait.

"Ok, but don't forget your jacket, it's still chilly out!" he heard Jamie's mum call back.

A few moments later Jamie burst out into the garden. "Jack!" he cried, throwing his arms around the spirits waist.

"Hey kid! Anyone would think you hadn't seen me in years!" Jack chuckled, returning the hug.

"Well, I didn't know when I was going to see you again! And since the moon vanished I was wondering if it was anything to do with…you know…Pitch?" Jamie looked up at Jack, eyes searching his face for answers.

Jack felt his heart drop a little. He had hoped to escape from his troubles for a while, but it seems they followed him even here. But he couldn't deny his first believer the truth; he owed Jamie that much.

"Yeah, he's back…but don't worry we're fixing it" he gave Jamie a winning smile and crouched down so they were at more of an equal height.

"And this time, we've got even_ more _people to help. Some of the most amazing people I've ever met!"

"Wow...even better than Santa?!" Jamie gasped.

Jack chuckled, then pretended to look around suspiciously. "Maybe even better that Santa" he whispered. "But don't tell him I said that or he'll stick me back on the naughty list ok?"

Jamie giggled. "So who are they?"

Jack straightened up, and hopped onto the garden fence so he could walk along it like a tight rope.

"Well, there are three of them. There's this one girl called Merida, a real adventurer. Her hair can burst into flames and she shoots arrows made from fire!" he enthused, using his staff to mime shooting a bow.

"Then there's Hiccup. He's really clever and controls the wind! On top of that, his best friend is a dragon called Toothless!"

"Toothless?" Jamie said tilting his head in confusion. "That doesn't sound like a very scary dragon name."

"Ahh, don't let that deceive you" Jack wagged his finger at him. "He has a whole row of razor sharp teeth hidden away in those gums and can be as ferocious as anything, but as long as you're friends with him he's the nicest dragon I've ever met."

"You've met more dragons?!"

Jack paused. "Well, no. But I bet he'd still be my favourite" he winked at Jamie.

"And the last one?"

Jack hopped down, and for some reason Jamie couldn't fathom he looked a little sad.

"The last one…she's called Rapunzel. She has golden hair longer than you can imagine and the greenest eyes you'll ever see. She's kind to everybody; always sees the best in others and makes you want to be your best too. She's so excited by life and sees beauty everywhere. It makes you want to protect her from the ugliness of the world, but she doesn't need you to. She's clever, resourceful, and surprisingly daring. She's just kind of wonderful really…" Jack faded off, realising Jamie was staring at him. He coughed and turned away in embarrassment, spinning his staff to distract from his blushing cheeks.

"Is she like the one from the fairytale?" Jamie's curious voice stopped him in his tracks.

"The what?" Jack looked over his shoulder with one eyebrow raised.

"Rapunzel. Is she like the Rapunzel from the fairytale? You know, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair?"

Jack turned around fully to face him, confusion evident in his expression.

"Come up to my room, I'll show you!" Jamie turned and sprinted back into the house.

Hearing Jamie's mother call "Done playing outside already?" Jack leaped up to hover outside Jamie's window until the boy let him in.

He plopped himself down on Jamie's bed, bouncing on it a little whilst the child rummaged through his shelves.

"Here it is! It's actually one of Sophie's story books but she's always leaving things in my room" he explained in embarrassment.

"It's ok I believe you kid" Jack grinned. "So what's this fairytale you wanted to show me?"

Jamie sat beside Jack and opened the book on his lap before he began to explain.

"It says that once upon a time, the Sun looked down at the Earth and saw Springtime. She loved its beauty and colour so much that she cried in happiness, and one of these tears fell to the Earth and became a beautiful golden flower. This would remain blooming everlasting as a sign of Spring.

Unfortunately a wicked witch found the flower and discovered that by singing a special song to it she could remain young and beautiful forever. She hid the flower from the world and kept it to herself out of greed.

Many years later, there was a king and queen who were going to have a baby, but the queen fell ill and was going to die. They heard rumours of a magic flower so the king sent his men out to search, who found it and brought it back. After it had healed the Queen, she gave birth to a daughter with beautiful golden hair, who they called Rapunzel.

The witch heard of the birth and came to steal the child; she had discovered her hair had the same healing powers as the flower. Because her hair would lose its power if it was ever cut, she just had to let it grow, until it was as long as…as a giraffe's neck!" Jamie improvised.

"The witch hid her in a tower for 18 years until a Prince came and found her. He called for Rapunzel to throw down her hair so he could climb up it and rescue her. Then they lived happily ever after; the Princess was loved by all her people and was known as the Sun's daughter because the sun shone in happiness and flowers bloomed every year on her birthday." Jamie concluded.

Jack sat in silence, staring at the book in Jamie's hands. "So that was Rapunzel's fairytale huh?" His heart ached in sadness for her, knowing that only the sad parts were true. If only she could have had her happy ending…yet then he never would have met her, a selfish part of him reminded himself.

Something was niggling him at the back of his brain. The Sun's daughter…what was it about that….? Suddenly Jack sat bolt upright.

"Jamie, the beginning, what did it say at the beginning?!" He exclaimed.

A little taken aback by Jack's reaction, Jamie hurriedly flipped back to the front of the book.

"Err..Once upon a time the Sun looked down at the Earth and saw Springtime. She loved its beauty and colour so much that she cried in happiness, and one of these tears fell to the Earth and became a beautiful golden flower."

Jack snapped his fingers and wooped, jumping up onto the bed in jubilation.

"A moonbeam from Manny, fire from lightning, light from Nightlight's soul and _a_ _tear from the sun! _I found it!" Jack grasped Jamie's hands and pulled him up onto the bed to jump with him, causing the book to fall to the floor.

"Found what?!" Jamie asked, laughing at Jack's obvious happiness and bouncing along with him.

"Too long to explain at the moment Jamie, but hah, take THAT Hiccup! Whose wearing the dunce cap now!" Jack flipped off the bed and rushed over to the window. He paused and looked over at the boy standing on the bed.

"I'm really sorry Jamie but I've just figured something out and I have to go tell the others."

"It is to do with defeating Pitch?" Jamie asked seriously.

"Yes. And I could never have done it without you" Jack nodded. "I'll definitely be back once this is all finished, and I'll bring you a brilliant snow day ok?"

"Ok!" Jamie grinned and watched as his frosty friend flew out the window.

* * *

Hiccup stared out at the stormy seas surrounding Berk. In his desperate flee to escape the hurt Merida had caused him, he had flown back to his home island in an attempt to lose himself in old memories.

He sat with his legs crossed, head resting on one hand and threw a pebble over the cliff glumly.

But it hadn't worked. Upon arriving, he and Toothless had gone to the hidden cove; but the only memories he found there were of _her._ Skating on the ice together. The blush on her cheeks as they held hands. Her glaring at him as they stood drenched in the water.

So now he sat here, on the site of his old village, staring out to sea and throwing rocks in the water. He groaned and buried his face in his hands. _"What am I gonna do Toothless?"_

The dragon was sitting beside him in companionable silence, his body heat radiating and providing a comforting presence. Toothless nudged him, causing him to look up.

Slowly, the dragon lowered his head, until their foreheads were touching. The two of them closed their eyes and Hiccup felt a sense of peace wash over him.

Trust. Friendship. Acceptance.

Hiccup understood his friend. Trust in their friendship and everything will be fine.

He let out a shaky breath and held Toothless' head between both his hands, looking deep into the dragons eyes. _"Where would I be without you eh?"_

Toothless whickered and revealed a gummy smile, his tongue lolling out of one side.

Suddenly, the dragon's eyes narrowed into slits and he sniffed the air. Hearing a twig snap from the forest behind them, Hiccup jumped up and whirled around.

This island had been deserted by people for years now; only animals occupied it and Toothless wouldn't react so nervously if it was only that. So what was it?

A figure emerged from the trees and Hiccup's jaw dropped.

"A- Astrid?!"

"Oh you remember me then?" she said, leaning on her axe haughtily and smirking at him.

Her voice was exactly like he remembered and it brought back, oh so many, memories. He found himself feeling a bit light headed as he tried to take it in.

She still looked the same. Her red studded skirt with the skulls upon it, the grey metal pauldrons capping her shoulders. The headband wrapped around her forehead with her blonde fringe falling over it. Like she had jumped directly out of his memories to stand before him.

Her image began to swim in front of him and he realised he was crying. Gods…he hadn't realised how much he had missed her; how much he missed all of them. Her voice hadn't just brought back memories of their short lived romance, but of everyone else in the village. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, his dad, Gobber and even Snotlout.

He had thought he had come to terms with the fact they were gone but now….she was _here_. _Astrid_.

Wiping the tears from his eyes he gasped out "What – _how?! _How are you here Astrid?!"

"Is that any way to treat an old friend? I thought you'd be happy!" she rolled her eyes and swung her axe over her shoulder.

"I am, it's just….I don't understand. You and the others – you should all be dead by now!"

"Some things we're just not meant to understand Hiccup" she said softly, the wind carrying her voice over to him. She began to walk closer. "But I can take you to the others if you like."

"You – you can?" Hiccup's voice quivered with the faint sound of hope and disbelief.

"Uh huh." She nodded, now closer to him. "It's quite easy really."

Toothless was restless, fidgeting in place. He began tugging at Hiccup's harness with his teeth, pulling him away from Astrid's approach.

"Woah, Toothless what is it?" Hiccup turned to detach himself from the dragon.

_Anxiety. Something wrong. Eyes._

"_What do you mean eyes? Look, I know this is weird bud, but hey, our whole life is pretty weird don't you think? Just give her a chance, remember, like before?"_

"Would you like that Hiccup? To see your family and friends again?" Astrid's soft voice was now right behind him.

"Of course Astrid, I just don't understand how-"

Several things happened at once.

Still distracted by Toothless, he was gazing into the dragon's eyes and spotted Astrid's reflection coming up behind him. In the same moment that Toothless let out a growl of warning Hiccup spotted Astrid, her eyes glowing green, raising her axe above her head to bring it crashing down on them both.

With only moments to react, Hiccup threw himself backwards into her, head-butting her with the back of his head and sending her flying to the floor.

Toothless sprang forward and pinned her to the dirt as Hiccup wrenched the axe from her hand and threw it over the cliff.

"Hiccup! What's _wrong _with you?! Is this how you treat all your friends?!"

"You're no friend of mine" Hiccup glared down at her, his face unusually dark.

Astrid broke into a slow smile and stopped struggling against Toothless. "I suppose not – though I'm surprised you could tell. You haven't exactly had the best track record so far" she cackled.

"What do you mean by that?" Hiccup's dragon eyes narrowed into slits.

"What I _mean _is, you haven't been very good at spotting your friends acting out of character yet, so I thought, hey, why not see if he falls for this? And sure enough, you're so _desperate _to have friends you'll even believe they're back from the dead! You can't even see what's right in front of your face!" She was grinning manically, loving every moment of pain and confusion that flittered across Hiccup's face.

Toothless snapped his teeth close to her face and let out a threatening growl.

"Oh don't get your scales in a twist" she rolled her eyes. Her form began to melt away, and she sank into the floor. Toothless tried to grasp her with his teeth but only captured air.

"Yoo hoo! Boys! Over here!"

Hiccup and Toothless looked over to see Pandora standing a few feet away from them. The same green eyes that had been "Astrid's" now glowed at them from her own pearly grey skin.

With a wink she transformed into a replica of Merida, except her eyes were green instead of blue.

"Och Hiccup, I cannae stand ye! I am such a bonnie lass and ye are such a toothpick I cannae ever be with ye!" She clasped her hands together in a dramatic fashion, over exaggerating the Scottish accent as she mocked them.

"No…but…her eyes! Her eyes were still blue! You couldn't have been her!"

Pandora laughed "There_ is_ more than one way to break an egg you know Hiccup. You lot all talk a great deal about the power of "friendship"…yet you couldn't even see when one of you was being controlled right under your very nose." She scorned.

Hiccup felt the blood drain from his face. Oh gods….could it be true? If he put his hurt feelings aside and looked objectively at how Merida had been acting….had she been under Pitch's control the whole time? Desperately needing them to help her but unable to ask?

Pandora's face was positively gleeful as she watched the emotions play out over his face.

"It really was almost too easy with you Hiccup" she gloated. "Even if it is buried deep, deep inside of you, you were never going to be able to hide your fears from Pitch. Though you may have dealt with it mostly by now, you will never get rid of that belief that you aren't good enough; that you are useless and unwanted. You _wanted _to believe that she could never love you!"

She reverted back to her normal form, practically clapping her hands in celebration of her own cleverness.

"A few words into the right ears at the right time is all it took. Now with you and Jack out of the way, it will be so simple to corner Rapunzel…and those Gems." Her eyes glittered wickedly.

As much as he wanted to order Toothless to roast her alive, Hiccup ignored her. If what she said was true, then Rapunzel and the others were in danger – he had to warn them and rescue Merida from Pitch's control. He leapt onto Toothless and, sensing his intention, the dragon shot a plasma ball at Pandora.

Making the most of the distraction the two of them launched themselves into the sky and raced towards the Pole.

After dodging the fireball, Pandora turned to watch them go.

"Leaving so soon Hiccup?" she murmured to herself. "Surely you don't think you can outrun me? Still - no matter. I'll be seeing you again very soon…"


	24. Chapter 24

Rapunzel sat on the edge of the bed in her temporary room, her head bowed and hands in her lap. Bunny had tried to come and comfort her earlier but she didn't feel like talking so he had given her some space.

She sighed and flopped backwards to lie on the bed.

This wasn't like her! She didn't usually allow herself to wallow in self-pity over something so trivial! So they had a little argument; Hiccup and Merida were squabbling all the time! Why was this getting to her so much?

"_It's because it was Jack who said it"_ she realised. If the words had come from anyone else, she would have seen that they were only looking out for her welfare, given them a smirk and proceeded to prove just how much she didn't need to be 'protected'. But Jack…Jack was different. She didn't want him to think of her as weak or useless. It hurt more, believing that he thought that of her.

She stared at the ceiling, picturing his icy blue eyes – an oxymoron because they held such warmth.

She wanted him to want her beside him, to see her as an equal – to admire her as much as she admired him. No. Not just admire. Care. Maybe even…love?

She sat up abruptly, staring at the wall across the room but not seeing it.

Love? When did that happen? No, surely not….

"Do I?" she whispered to herself, holding her hand over her heart. "Do I…love him?"

Every moment of their time together flashed before her.

The way he had smiled when his blue eyes had met her green ones for the first time, and how his chiselled jaw had dropped in astonishment when he had noticed her absurdly long hair.

The kindness he showed as he tried to make them all feel welcome at the workshop. The way he had laughed as they had played with the toys, or how gently he had touched her forehead when checking for bruises.

She smiled as she remembered the joy and breathless excitement on his face when they had played in the snow; his devilish smirk and the mischievous glint in his eyes as he teased them.

Then there was the tender way he had held her hand when comforting her about her memories - and his pained expression when she had pushed him away.

The hopeful look he had given her when she had found out the truth about Eugene, and later the way he held her hands on the ice - so firmly, keeping her safe.

The slight blush on his cheeks as he had given her the frozen leaf; he was so adorably charming when he attempted to be blasé.

Her heart raced whenever he touched her, and she was hyper aware of him at all times; she felt overly warm when he was near, despite his chilly presence. She found herself fascinated with his hair, wanting to run her hands through it, and his eyes – oh his _eyes_…

Every moment, every expression, sound, word he had ever said to her was captured in her heart in crystal clear clarity. As if she had unconsciously treasured and hoarded any experience with him, before she had even known how much he meant to her.

Oh god.

"I need to speak to Jack." She stood up and ran to the door flinging it open.

"Jack!" she burst into the Globe room. But it was empty. She turned and began running through the corridors.

"Bunny? Merida? Hiccup? Where is everyone?" she paused to ask a passing elf. It shrugged at her and continued walking.

She rolled her eyes in frustration. Hang on, the yetis! They usually knew what was going on. She was nearer the kitchen than the workshop by now, and there were usually at least one of them in there warding off the elves from stealing food.

Rushing to the kitchen doors and flinging them open she groaned as she found it empty. "Oh for Manny's sake, where is everybody?!" she despaired, starting to panic. They hadn't really left her here and gone off to fight had they? They didn't even have all the parts of the key yet!

"No. No they wouldn't" she reassured herself. Even if Jack still wanted her to stay behind, she knew Bunny would never leave her. He knew he would never hear the end of it if he did – Jack still had that to learn.

She turned to exit and shrieked, jumping back and hitting the kitchen table.

"Merida! Goodness, you scared me!" she laughed at her self slightly, calming down her racing heart.

"Sorry Punz! I didn't mean to, but I've been looking for you everywhere!" Merida exclaimed.

"I've been looking for you guys too! Where is everyone?"

"Jack and Hiccup went out for some air, but in the meantime one of my wisps brought me an important message" Merida replied sombrely.

Sensing the seriousness of the situation Rapunzel's chewed her lip nervously. "What did it say?"

"Pandora and Pitch are stirring up trouble again, so the Guardians have gone to stop them. The yetis are down in the stable helping them sort out the sleigh - North told me to find you and wait here until the others get back so we can tell them what's going on and go join them later."

"Oh no!" Rapunzel gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth."They've gone to fight them – alone?! We barely made it out last time, and now they are four people down!"

She turned around and began pacing the floor fretfully, her back to Merida.

Merida's necklace glinted darkly and she reached for the frying pan on the table beside her.

* * *

Jack was flying as fast as the wind could carry him when he saw a familiar black blur up ahead.

"HICCUP!" He yelled.

The dragon rider looked over his shoulder and Toothless slowed down slightly to allow their friend to catch up.

"Jack! What are you doing here?!"

"I was going to ask you the same question! I've got something important to tell you guys!"

"I have too! Merida is being controlled by Pandora and Pitch!"

"I've found the- wait what?!" Jack nearly fell out of the air in shock.

"Merida was acting oddly at the workshop but I never noticed" Hiccup explained through gritted teeth. "She – well, she said some things that upset me, so Toothless and I flew over to Berk so I could clear my head. When we were there though, Pandora cornered us."

"Are you ok?" Jack asked in concern, automatically scanning the boy and dragon for injuries.

"We're fine, she only tried to mess with our heads. But she admitted that they have been controlling Merida to try split up the group!"

"But she…." Jack slapped his hand to his forehead. "That's why she wanted me to say those things to Rapunzel! She knew it would upset her! Argh, I never should have allowed her to put those thoughts in my mind in the first place!"

"You upset Rapunzel?" Hiccup asked curiously.

Jack gave him a look. "Not now, dude. It was my fault and I'll fix it, but the important thing now is that we get back and free Merida from their control. Thank Manny the others are there with her."

"That's just it!" Hiccup shouted over the sound of the roaring wind. "From what Pandora has hinted I'm pretty sure they've got Merida to send the Guardians on a wild goose chase – she's going after Rapunzel and the Gem!"

A look of panic followed by dark determination fell over Jack's face, and without another word the two of them increased their speed to the fastest they could manage.

The two of them burst into the Globe room, panting and wheezing. Toothless had remained outside just in case Merida tried to escape out of the main entrance.

"RAPUNZEL!"

"MERIDA!"

Both of their voices echoed around the conspicuously empty room.

The two boys looked at each other frantically. "Where is everyone?" Jack asked in frustration as they both span and began racing through the corridors, looking into rooms as they passed.

Suddenly he spotted an elf waddling past them and grabbed it roughly, bringing it up to his face. "Have you seen Rapunzel?!"

The shocked elf nodded dumbly.

"Where?!"

It pointed down the hallway towards the kitchens.

Without a word Jack placed it none-too-gently back on the floor and he and Hiccup raced off towards the kitchen, leaving the elf spinning on the spot as they flew past it.

As they drew near to the main kitchen doors they could head a ruckus coming from behind them.

They pushed themselves to run even faster and shoved open the wide double doors, their hearts in their mouth. The kitchen was a mess. Pots and pans lying all over the place and carefully prepared food now lay splattered on the floor.

Rapunzel stood with her back to them, a frying pan clutched in her hands pointed defensively towards the open window. They could see her shoulders heaving with effort as she breathed in and out. The boys both sighed in relief seeing she was ok.

But the rest of the kitchen was empty.

"Rapunzel…?" Jack said softly.

She span to face them, the frying pan aimed directly at his face. She blinked for a few moments, before registering who they were.

There was a clang as she dropped the frying pan at her feet and threw herself into Jack's arms.

He froze in shock as she sobbed again his chest, and then brought his arms around her to hold her close.

"Oh Jack! I was so scared!" she cried, burying her face into the front of his hoody.

"Something is wrong with Merida! She – she attacked me! She tried to knock me out with the frying pan but I managed to get it off her. She wouldn't stop! Oh I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come!" She looked up at him sniffling.

"I was so helpless; she only left out of that window when she heard you coming. You saved me Jack!"

Her eyes stared up at him, and he found it difficult to pin point the emotion in them. He was mesmerised by them; he could swear they were even greener than he remembered, and the fresh tears threatening to spill caused them to sparkle.

"She jumped out the window?" Hiccup's voice interrupted. "But it's a sheer drop out there!"

Rapunzel turned to face him, still clinging to Jack and sniffing. "Pitch's nightmares were waiting for her. She jumped on one of their backs and flew off."

"Well thank goodness you're ok at least" Jack said, tenderly wiping a tear from her cheek as she gave him a small smile. "Merida is being controlled and we think she was going after the Gem."

"It's a good thing Rapunzel doesn't have it anymore eh Punz?" Hiccup smiled conspiringly at her.

Jack felt Rapunzel go still. "What?" he asked in confusion.

"When Rapunzel was healing me and Toothless after the fight she asked me to keep hold of it" Hiccup explained. "It's been in the bag I keep on Toothless this whole time."

Jack chuckled. "I bet Pandora wont be too pleased when she realises she went to all that trouble for nothing. Not only did she not get the Gem but she attacked completely the wrong person and let the one who _did _have it fly out of her grasp!"

"Yes" Hiccup nodded, still looking sombre "But this means it is going to be a lot harder to find Merida now. They know they can't try and use her to get close to us again now we know they are controlling her, but there's no way Pandora is just going to let her go." He kicked the table leg in frustration.

"Oh gods this is bad!" he fretted, going over the window and leaning out as if he hoped to catch a glimpse of her. "How are we going to find her?"

"I think I know where she went." Rapunzel offered, wiping the last of her tears away, but remaining tucked under Jack's arm much to his delight.

"You do?!" Hiccup looked at her incredulously.

She nodded. "While Merida was here she said that the Guardians had gone to attack Pandora and Pitch back at his cave. We were supposed to wait here until you got back and then follow. I bet she has gone to help Pitch and Pandora fight. Think about it: the Guardians will never suspect her and she can get in close and attack them before they realise what is happening!" she frowned thoughtfully.

"I bet that's why she tried to knock me out – so I couldn't tell you." she concluded.

"Well we know now." Hiccup said with a determined look on his face. "I say we go join the others at the cave and get Merida back – we'll show them they can't get away with this."

"Couldn't put it better myself" Jack grinned, swinging his staff over his shoulder.

"I'll go get Toothless ready and meet you at the entrance" Hiccup said, and rushed out the door.

Rapunzel went to follow but Jack stopped her. "Punz…"

"Yes Jack?" she asked; her voice girly and soft.

"I…I need to apologise for what I said to you before. Even though Merida tricked me into it, I should never have said those things in the first place. I should have known better and stuck to my own guns. I don't really think you need to stay away from the fighting; you've got us out of so many scrapes, most of the time it's _you _protecting _us._

It's just…I was being selfish really because…because I can't stand to see you get hurt. Rapunzel I don't know what I'd do if…"

"Shhh" Rapunzel whispered, leaning in close and placing a finger on his lips. Then her finger trailed down his mouth until it was underneath his chin and she used it to pull his face closer.

He closed his eyes, barely daring to breathe as she placed the lightest of kisses on his lips.

"All is forgiven" she whispered.

She leaned back and he straightened up in a daze, not quite believing what had just happened.

She smirked at him. "Now shouldn't I be more travel size if we've got some flying to do?" her green eyes glittered mischievously at him.

* * *

**Author note - Right, you may have to wait a bit longer for this next chapter. Things are about to go DOWN and it requires a lot of planning and making sure things happen in the right order. Also I have the big fight scene coming up, and you know how I dread writing those fight scenes :S So I will work on it as quick as possible but please be patient with me! In the mean time, if you would like to leave me encouragement then please leave me messages on what you think of the story so far - I love reading them and they make me write faster lol! :D**


	25. Chapter 25

As they flew as fast as the wind could carry them, Jack explained his theory about the sources of the key to Hiccup and Rapunzel.

"So don't you see? Manny must have hidden each of them inside us! When he chose us he made sure those powers were hidden within us, ready for when the time was right!"

"So Rapunzel contains the tears of the sun?" Hiccup nodded in the direction of Jack's pocket where Rapunzel was currently sheltered from the racing wind.

"Yeah. I imagine I'm probably the moonbeam, but the lightning's fire…well that's a toss up between you and Merida really since you both have a connection with fire."

"Lightning's fire…" Hiccup mused. "Wait! Jack, do you remember how I introduced Toothless to you? Do you remember what I called him?"

"Er…the unholy offspring…"

"Of _lightning and death!" _Hiccup finished triumphantly. Night Fury's have always been known as that, and therefore his fire would be _lightning's fire!" _

"That works!" Jack crowed excitedly. "So Merida – Merida has Nightlight's soul?"

"The wisps! The wisps are souls and she is their Guardian!" Hiccup offered ecstatically.

"Yes!" Jack punched his hand in the air triumphantly. "We can actually do this!" He paused. "Err…not that I ever doubted us or anything" he grinned sheepishly.

As they sped over the rooftops of Burgess towards Pitch's cavernous hideout, Jack spared a longing glance towards the direction of Jamie's house. _"I'll be back to bring you that snow day soon Jamie – I promise." _He thought to himself.

The group landed outside the tunnel leading into the cave and Rapunzel jumped out of Jack's pocket to grow back to her normal size. They all looked at the large hole warily.

"Well, I guess this is it." Hiccup said.

"The others must already be inside." Jack added.

"We should hurry – who knows what's happening to them" Rapunzel reminded them, and promptly lowered herself into the hole and slid down.

With a nod at each other, the two boys came next – Hiccup reminding Toothless to wait a few moments before following in order to avoid crushing them at the bottom.

The cave was dark and dingy just like before. But it was also silent. They had expected to hear the sounds of a battle raging, but the only sound was a faint dripping of water coming from somewhere further in the cave.

Coming from bright sunlight to almost complete darkness, Rapunzel and Jack were stuck in one place waiting for their eyes to adjust. Hiccup and Toothless however began moving forward without hesitation.

"Hiccup" Jack whispered. "Where are you going?! You'll fall off a platform edge or something!"

"Huh?" Hiccup said in confusion, turning to look back at them both. "Oh! The dark, right, I forgot you guys would need time to adjust." He pointed at his reptilian eyes. "Dragon eyes remember? They see pretty well in the dark. I'll wait until you guys can see better."

"No, you and Toothless should go on ahead Hiccup" Rapunzel interrupted Jack before he could speak. "We need to find the others as soon as possible and we will probably do that faster if we split up anyway."

Jack looked thoughtful and nodded in agreement. "She has a point. If you go one way, we'll go the other and we can cover more ground that way. Just yell if you find anything."

Hiccup nodded sombrely at them both. "Ok. There are two bridges ahead leading off this platform; we'll take the left one. Be careful you two."

"We're not the ones with a history of falling off things" Jack joked, trying to ease the tension. "Keep away from those edges alright?"

Hiccup smiled at him, and he and Toothless vanished into the gloom. A few more minutes passed before Jack and Rapunzel felt comfortable enough with their eyesight to begin moving deeper into the cave.

When they came to the bridges they took the right one, sparing a glance in the direction Hiccup and Toothless must have gone. It was still too dark to make anything out that was more than a few metres away from them.

As they proceeded, the lack of sound made Jack increasingly nervous. They definitely should have heard something by now. There's no way the fight could have been over already…could it? And if it was which side won? But now he thought about it, there wasn't even a sign that a battle had taken place here – all the damage they had caused the last time they had been here had been repaired too.

His hands gripped his staff tighter, the stress making his jaw clench as he strained his ears and eyes, looking for any other signs of life.

As they were crossing another bridge he suddenly heard something. Whispers. He whirled around looking for the source. The whispers were indistinct but had a definite feeling of malice. As if guided by some unknown force, his eyes dropped downward to look over the left hand side of the bridge, and there on a platform below was a giant boulder.

The rock was obsidian black, with cracks upon its surface leaking a purple glow; and it was from these cracks that the whispers also came. Giant silver chains were wrapped around it, fastened by an intricately designed lock.

He gulped, sensing the pure evil locked away inside it. He did _not _want to see what was inside there – _ever. _He turned to point it out to Rapunzel and ask if they should call for Hiccup, when he suddenly noticed another light source apart from the slight purple glow below them.

A faint but warm yellow light was shining from behind a wall of rock on the platform ahead. Something about it felt familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Rapunzel, stay close" he whispered to her, and began to move toward the light source.

The two of them crept closer. As they neared, for some reason that he couldn't explain, his chest grew tighter. An unexplainable panic rose up to his throat, as his body reacted to a knowledge that his brain hadn't caught up with yet.

He raised his staff in front of him defensively they rounded the corner of the wall.

And there, lying unconscious on the floor and bound in shadowy chains, was Rapunzel.

His heart thudded in his chest.

Once.

Twice.

"Two for the price of one…that's every guys dream isn't it?" "Rapunzel's" voice whispered in his ear.

He whirled around, a choked cry caught in his throat and he stumbled backwards toward his unconscious friend.

The one who up until now he had believed to be Rapunzel, smiled wickedly at him, and his eyes widened in horror as Pitch emerged from the shadows to stand beside her.

Jack's eyes flitted between them – the Rapunzel on the floor, and the Rapunzel standing before him. How had he not known?! How had he not seen?!

He crouched next to the unconscious girl and felt for a pulse. It was strong and she was breathing. Thank goodness. As he brushed the hair away from her face she stirred and her eyes fluttered open.

"Jack?" she asked weakly.

She blinked and her eyes focused on his face. "Wha – what's happening?" Her eyes widened as she looked around and caught sight of her doppelganger grinning evilly back at her.

"It's ok, I'm here Punz" he tried to comfort her, pulling at her chains whilst keeping an eye on the 'not Rapunzel' and Pitch who seemed merely content to watch them – for now.

"Oh Jack, I was so scared!" the fake began mocking him, holding her hand up to her forehead as she mimicked a 'damsel in distress'. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come! You saved me Jack!" She ended her performance and before their eyes she grew in height and her hair turned black as her image transformed back into Pandora's normal form. She blew him a kiss.

He gritted his teeth, feeling sick as he remembered how completely taken in he had been. It was just like when Pitch had taunted him with his memories – they had dangled something he had wanted in front of him in order to distract him from what was really happening.

He hadn't realised it until now but there was a part of him that so desperately wanted Rapunzel to _need _him that he had ignored all other signs. He still wasn't used to having this sort of connection with people yet, and caring for someone so much – it scared him. It scared him more than he wanted to admit. Because what if one day she no longer wanted him around?

This was the second time he should have known Rapunzel better - if he hadn't wanted to play the gallant hero so badly, he never would have been taken in by such a ridiculous display. If they got out of this he swore to himself he would never repeat his mistake; he would be damned if he let Rapunzel down like that _ever _again.

"Oh I wish you could see your face Jack – it's absolutely _delicious_." Pandora eyed him hungrily. "You know, I'm almost disappointed with how easy it was to fool the lot of you" she sighed.

"It was ridiculously simple to get your hot headed friend to send the Guardians on a wild goose chase to the Warren and provide them with some Nightmares to keep them busy. After she knocked out your little friend there all I needed to do was take her place and you all played into our hands like clockwork!"

She paused to narrow her eyes at him. "You _did _cause me some trouble with the Gem I'll admit – it was _most _troublesome to learn that the girl didn't have it after we went to all the trouble to get her. Yet, in the end this works out for the better. I would never have known that the sources to complete the key resided in the four of you, and you were _so _kind to accompany me here so I could remove them from you." She bared her teeth in a vicious smile. "And to think, originally I was just going to bring you here to take the Gem and kill you!"

Throughout Pandora's boasting, Jack had been subtly trying to tug at Rapunzel's chains looking for weakness. They were created from Pitch's shadows and each link was an unyielding solid blackness.

Rapunzel, who was now more awake and aware as her hair healed her slight concussion whispered to him. "The chain's weakness is light. We need a bright light to break them."

"Now" Pandora said, the tone of her voice changing and catching their attention. "I don't suppose you will just be good little spirits and _give _me what I want?"

"Never!" Jack spat, crouching defensively in front of Rapunzel.

Instead of looking upset, Pandora looked gleefully thrilled, as if she was hoping he would say that.

"What a shame. I guess I'll just have to leave you to play with my little friends – maybe they can teach you how to share…"

She moved to one side and behind her, emerging from the darkness appeared three figures that caused both Rapunzel and Jack's blood to run cold.

Because these figures were horribly familiar. Standing in front of them, identical and yet not, were the forms of Rapunzel, Jack and Merida. Constructed from a mixture of nightmare sand, shadows and chaos, the figures before them were identical to the originals in almost every way except for their colouring. Their skin was an ashen grey, their hair and clothing black as night. And their eyes were the freakish amber/gold of Pitch's Nightmares.

"Do you like them?" Pitch asked, coming up behind the Dark Jack and clasping his shoulders in a fatherly manner. "They were extremely difficult to make, but we persevered" he smiled fondly at their creations.

"A little collaboration between Pandora and I almost had them perfect, but a finishing touch was needed. To _truly _create your darker selves, right down to your powers and appearance, a small part of your soul was needed. Of course we couldn't take your soul directly, but what better way than to take it from objects that have an imprint of your soul deeply ingrained upon them?"

Rapunzel and Jack's eyes widened in understanding, as their thoughts flashed back to their confrontation at the Tooth Palace.

"A flower, a scale, an arrow and a splinter." Pitch sneered at them. "You remember where I got the splinter from don't you Jack?" he continued softly. "When I offered you the world on a frozen platter and you shunned me in favour of becoming the children's _nanny!" _He spat out bitterly.

Suddenly they heard a roar and a shout come from one of the platforms up ahead.

"Hiccup?!" Jack yelled, his eyes straining in the darkness to try and make something out.

"Looks like he is already playing with some 'friends' of his own" Pandora grinned. "Well, I hate to miss out on the fun, but I have to keep an eye on the Guardians to make sure they don't get up to anything troublesome. Once we have the Gem from the dragon child and the sources from your bodies, I shall finally have the key - then I'll be able to release my darlings from their prison and show this world what _true _chaos really is."

She turned to Pitch. "Try not to damage them _too _much; I want to have some fun with them when I get back. I trust I can leave you to complete the task this time?"

He gazed into her eyes unflinchingly and unwaveringly, a slow and evil smile stretching his lips "It will be my pleasure."

She smiled seductively at him, and then turned to wave her fingers at Jack before dissolving into mist.

Jack was gripping his staff so hard his knuckles were white. What should he do? He tried to analyse his options. Rapunzel was trapped in chains with no way to free her as of yet. Even if she could get out they were currently outnumbered two to one. He needed space to fight, but if he moved then it would leave Rapunzel completely vulnerable to attack.

Suddenly he felt Rapunzel tugging on his arm. "Jack!" she hissed at him. "Jack, turn around and hold me, then close your eyes" she whispered, making sure her face was hidden from Pitch's line of sight behind Jack's body.

"What?" he tried to whisper back without moving his lips as Pitch stared hungrily at them both.

"Just trust me."

He remembered his vow to never let her down again. He lowered his staff and turned around, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face into her neck, eyes screwed closed.

"Awww how sweet Jack." Pitch mocked. "Have you finally realised how inevitable it is to fight me? Well, I'm a generous man, I shall allow you one last goodbye before my creations show you the _true_ meaning of darkness."

"Keep them closed." Rapunzel whispered into Jack's ear, and then he felt her tighten her grip on the back of his hoody.

Suddenly her hair exploded from its normal comforting glow to shining as bright as the sun. Light simply flooded the cave, burning Jack's eyelids even as he screwed them closed tighter. He could hear Pitch and the dark creations screaming in pain as the light pierced their eyes.

The chains around Rapunzel's body melted away, their shadowy form no match for the pure brilliance of light her hair was emitting.

It was amazing, overpowering, and lasted only for a few moments. But a few moments was all they needed for a distraction.

As the light faded, Jack slowly dared to open his eyes. He tried to blink away the spots that were still swimming in front of them. As he looked down at Rapunzel she slumped in his arms for a moment, looking utterly exhausted. She smiled up at him weakly.

"Doing that kinda takes a lot out of me" she admitted. "But now we can get away."

He helped her stand, supporting her and they looked over to where the others had been standing. Pitch was no where in sight, but their dark twins were still there; hands over their eyes and groaning in pain.

Even as they looked at them however, Jack and Rapunzel could see that they were quickly recovering. Their bodies weren't just made out of shadow; they were more solid – more corporeal. And this meant that a beam of light was no where near enough to defeat them.

Jack clasped Rapunzel's hand in his. "We need to move. Now."

* * *

**Author's Note - Well done to those of you who guessed that Rapunzel was actually Pandora! That crafty lady is also able to teleport which is why she can get around so quickly damn her!  
I grinned so much when people picked up on the hints I had left, or simply knew Rapunzel's character well enough by now to tell that something was off - it made me so happy to know I've written her well enough for you to tell! **

******To those of you that didn't, don't feel bad - I perfectly left it vague and it wouldn't have been any fun for me if you had all guessed!**

**Sorry for those of you who left me messages about it that I hadn't replied to, but I knew that if I replied, even to say "I can't say" that would have given it away!**


	26. Chapter 26

Hiccup had hated leaving Jack and Rapunzel alone but he knew they were capable of handling themselves and it was vital they warned the Guardians about Merida as soon as possible.

"_Provided she hasn't found them already" _he thought to himself with a gulp.

He considered mounting Toothless and flying through the cave for a better view, but he didn't trust the structures around him. Though the ceilings were high, jagged rocks, platforms, bridges and structures jutted out unexpectedly all over the place making it extremely difficult to manoeuvre when flying at speed.

He had wandered quite far into the cave when he saw a faint purple glow shining out of the gloom on his right.

Toothless gave a low growl – the evil and hatred radiating from it was almost suffocating! They couldn't quite make out what it was as huge rock blocked their view, but Hiccup was quite happy not to get any closer at this point; not until he had found the others and saved Merida from her spell at least!

They continued onwards, their path leading them up higher now until it levelled out at a large stone platform with steep drops either side. He took a moment to look around from his higher vantage point.

He slowly rotated on the spot, his keen eyes piercing the darkness. He thought he could just about make out some movement on one of the platforms further back – it was probably Jack and Rapunzel since that is the direction they had been coming from. Yes, in fact it was almost definitely them because he could see the glow from Rapunzel's hair. He squinted harder; even his improved eyesight still struggled to piece the darkness completely.

"Hang on…if that's Jack and Rapunzel…who are those other figures? Have they found the Guardians already?"

Suddenly two simultaneous growls echoed around him. He slowly turned.

One growl came from beside him where Toothless was standing. The other growl came from across the platform. Where Toothless was also standing.

His jaw dropped. The second Toothless was identical in every way except for the orange eyes that gleamed at them with malice. And next to him stood – another Hiccup?!

Hiccup had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. His mirror image was staring back at him, except he could tell that this version of him was twisted and corrupt; skin ashen, hair and clothes inky black and eyes that changed from molten gold to ferocious amber. And his face held an expression of pure hatred that Hiccup was sure he had never made.

He barely had a chance to recover from the shock when, with a roar, the Dark Dragon had hurtled towards them and crashed into Toothless. The force of the collision propelled the two dragons towards they edge, and they fell – tumbling and bashing into stone on the rocky cliff until they landed on a platform below.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup cried.

But he had no time to climb down after his friend; his dark doppelganger was approaching fast with a sharpened dagger glinting in his hands.

Hiccup froze as he saw his own face coming towards him, knife raised and violent intent radiating from his eyes. For a split moment his mind flashed back to when he had first met Toothless_. _

"_Is this how he saw me? Is that how I looked when I threatened to kill him? … I look like a monster…"_

Hiccup could not make his body move. Death at his own hands was approaching swiftly, and all he could do was stare at the hatred on his copy's face.

Suddenly a blinding light filled the cave and Hiccup instinctively threw up his arms to shield his eyes.

* * *

Now the glaring light had faded, Jack pulled Rapunzel along beside him as they raced to the edge of the platform. They could see another one further below, a little distance away. The two of them glanced over their shoulder and spotted the Dark Merida and Rapunzel getting up to chase after them. There was no sign of Dark Jack.

As one, the two of them leaped off the edge; Rapunzel flinging her hair out to swing on a jutting piece of rock above them. Jack flew along side her just in case she fell and they landed on the lower ledge safely.

There was no time for a sigh of relief however, as almost as soon as their feet touched the ground they were dodging arrows of black fire raining down upon them.

"Watch out!" Jack called to Rapunzel, grabbing a pile of her hair and rolling to one side with it as the arrows came at them with deadly accuracy.

"Quick – behind there!" Rapunzel pointed at a large rock which could provide them with shelter. Darting behind it, the two stood back to back panting, wincing as arrows continued to whizz past their hiding place.

"How are we going to get out of here?!" Rapunzel fretted. "If we step out, we're going to become pin cushions!"

"If I cause a distraction then you could-"

But Rapunzel didn't get to hear what Jack was going to say as he was suddenly jolted away from her. What neither of them had realised is that Dark Rapunzel had easily followed them over to their new platform, using the same method as her original.

Standing outside of striking distance, she had come round the rock and whipped out her hair to pull Jack's staff from his hands. Luckily, they were still clenched tightly around it, otherwise he would have lost it altogether.

* * *

Recovering from the burst of light quickly, it had been the shock Hiccup had needed to jolt his body into movement. Making the most of his dark self's momentary incapacitation, he sprinted around him and then blasted him from behind with a burst of wind from his palms.

Unfortunately his aim was slightly off, so rather than sending him tumbling over the edge, the Dark Hiccup merely landed on one of the bridges, and crumpled to the floor.

Satisfied that he had taken his copy out of action for the moment, Hiccup frantically peered over the edge to look for Toothless.

"_Toothless? Bud? Are you ok?"_

_Pain. Biting. Clawing. Determination_. _Frustration. Separation._

Hiccup's heart went out to him. Without each other, neither of them could really fly. Hiccup's body was not built to fly by itself like Jack's was; sure he could use the wind to blast himself in the air, but his body was heavier than Jack's and not as streamlined as Toothless' so it made it very difficult to fly with any precision.

Still, with the winds help he could definitely make the jump down to his friend and use it to cushion his fall. He stepped back a few paces in preparation for a run up.

And choked as a wooden staff lowered over his head and pulled back tight against his throat.

* * *

"Jack!" Rapunzel cried, trying to help pull him backwards. As her darker self tugged from the other side it became like a twisted game of tug and war, except both Jack and Rapunzel knew that if they lost they would lose so much more than a game.

If Jack lost his staff then he would lose the main source of his power and ability to fight. Also, with every tug, he was being pulled closer and closer out of the protective cover provided by the rock, and was more vulnerable to being shot by the Dark Merida who continued to rain arrows down upon them.

Realising she had to do something about the archer, Rapunzel let go of Jack's staff and began to focus. Remaining behind the rock, she reached out with her senses; let them seep into the ground. Her mind followed the rock, the earth, every pebble until she could feel the corruption radiating from Dark Merida's feet.

Throwing out her hands in front of her, she brought vines bursting from the ground to wrap around the copy's legs. A trickle of sweat ran down Rapunzel's forehead, still weakened from her earlier burst of light.

The archer shrieked in rage as the vines began to cling to her arms, preventing her from shooting. Rapunzel's slight smile of relief was short-lived however, as with a smirk of contempt; the other girl looked down at the vines and began promptly burning them away with her black fire.

Rapunzel let out a slight cry of distress, glancing to her side to see how Jack was doing. Her copy was strong and Jack could not gain enough grip on his staff to turn and point it towards her in order to fight her off. Stuck holding on to it lengthways in front of him, he was reduced to digging in his heels and pulling with all his might, but he was eventually tugged out into the open away from the rocks shelter.

Seeing Jack's vulnerable state, Rapunzel renewed her attack on Merida. It was quickly becoming a race between the four of them as to who could hold out longer before the other collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

Hiccup was jolted backwards as the staff cruelly pressed against his windpipe. He felt himself tumble into the chest of someone behind him, as his hands flew up to try and pull the staff away from his neck.

"**What do we have here? A Dragon Rider without a dragon? That's a bit pathetic isn't it?" **a cold voice hissed into his ear.

Straining his eyes to the side to try and catch a glimpse of his attacker, he was helped when the boy leaned forward to give him a grin, still pulling back the staff against Hiccup's throat.

Hiccup shivered as he saw the corrupted face of his friend look at him, his grin a twisted version of the one Jack would usually give.

"**What? Not pleased to see me? I'm hurt Hiccup. Well, maybe you'd like to see her instead?" **Dark Jack jolted Hiccup around to face to the left, and there, standing in front of him was Merida. His Merida.

She stood before him, her glorious hair lighting the space around her in flickers of red and gold. But his heart wept as he saw the blank look in her eyes, the puppet-like movement of her body stealing away her normal passion and grace.

"Merida…" he choked.

She looked at him blankly.

"**Aww…do you think she can hear you little boy?" **the cold voice continued to whisper in his ear. **"Since Pandora says we only need your dragon for the source, you're not really needed. But because we are all such **_**good**_** friends, I thought I would let you have the honour of dying at her hand. Isn't that nice of me? Tell you what, I'll even let you say goodbye before I have her kill you." **Dark Jack crooned, loosening the staff from Hiccup's throat ever so slightly – just enough to let him breathe more easily and speak.

Merida did not react to anything being said. But as Hiccup watched her, he saw her stance shift and his body tensed as he knew what was coming. She took position and pulled an arrow from her quiver.

"Merida…Merida I know you can hear me. You have to fight it. The girl I know is stronger than this; you would never let them control you. Where is that girl who won't let anything stand in her way? The girl who stands up for what she believes in, no matter what the cost? The girl I…the girl I have fallen for?" Hiccup's voice cracked.

Merida's hand shook slightly. She positioned the arrow against the string.

"I want you to know that you are the most amazing person I have ever met. Up until now…Toothless was my entire world. And though he will never mean any less to me, now my world has grown larger - to include Jack, Rapunzel…and you. Especially you. And I will never regret that."

A crack appeared on the necklace that hung around Merida's throat. She raised her bow and took aim at his heart.

Hiccup could see it was no use. He let out a sigh. _"Goodbye bud…thank you. For everything."_

Toothless' pained cry echoed around the cave as he registered his friend's words in his mind.

"Know Merida that I don't blame you – I will never blame you. You entered my world like an exploding firework, and brought me such excitement and happiness that I never thought I'd have. I would never change that. Never. Thank you. For being you." Hiccup closed his eyes.

A tear tricked down Merida's emotionless face. And she fired.

* * *

Rapunzel was quickly losing out to exhaustion. She could not re-create the vines forever, and Dark Merida showed no signs of slowing in her relentless burning.

Moving slowly, Rapunzel made her way to stand in front of Jack. If she was going to lose this battle between her and archer, she would be damned if she let Jack get shot due to her incompetence.

Jack meanwhile was struggling too. There was something odd about his tug of war with the Drak Rapunzel. The longer they fought, the weaker he felt, but it was more than just exhaustion. He looked down at her dark hair wrapped around his staff and his eyes went wide.

The usual frost entwined around his staff was slowly but surely turning black – like rot. Like a poison the darkness was spreading, and the more it grew the weaker Jack felt. He realised that just like Rapunzel's hair healed, this twisted copy must have the opposite affect – to suck out health and life! But if he let go then he would lose his only way of fighting them – and both he and Rapunzel would be outnumbered and overwhelmed.

"Jack!"

He twisted his head at Rapunzel's frightened cry and his blood ran colder than normal.

A Dark version of Hiccup was making his way towards Rapunzel; knife raised in the air as he bore down upon her.

Rapunzel had cried out for Jack without thinking when she spotted Dark Hiccup coming towards her. She did not do it to call for his help. It was merely something deep within her that saw her end was coming and wanted to reach out for him.

Her knees were weak with exhaustion. She had nearly lost the battle with the black fire; she was barely able to re-produce vines any more, and now another threat had appeared. But she refused to move. If she moved Jack would either be shot or stabbed, and she would _not _let that happen. She set her jaw in determination and closed her eyes as Hiccup brought his knife down at her heart.

* * *

**Author's Note - Two chapters one after the other! Never say I don't give you anything ;)Sheesh it's tricky having things happening simultaneously in different places! Let me know if anything is too confusing and I will try clear it up. **


	27. Chapter 27

**Content Warning – Angst, blood, violent deaths, injuries. You have been warned!**

* * *

Hiccup felt a jolt go through him.

But it wasn't the arrow.

The staff against his neck pulled back suddenly, and then dropped away, clattering on the ground loudly.

Daring to squint out of one eye, Hiccup looked at the ground. Dark Jack was lying dead on the floor – black sand pooling on the floor and an arrow straight through one eye.

Hiccup blinked unable to quite believe his luck. Then he remembered Merida and looked up.

She stood there staring at him; panting for air as if she had emerged from drowning in deep water.

A simple chain hung around her neck and at her feet lay the shattered remains of the pendant.

Hiccup looked at the shards, his eyes going wide with astonishment.

"_I don't believe it…she broke that necklace through sheer willpower…"_

Merida made eye contact him, still gasping slightly and her eyes watering; though out of exhaustion, relief or just overwhelming emotion one couldn't tell.

"You were right Hiccup…I couldnae let them control me…I couldnae let them hurt you." Her voice cracked slightly. "I'd ne'er have forgiven meself… I dunnae know what I'd do if I lost you-"

But the rest of what she was going to say was lost as Hiccup strode over to her, grabbed the back of her head and crushed his lips against hers.

Her precious bow, never out of her sight for moment, was dropped to the floor. It clattered to her feet as her arms rose up and clung to Hiccup's back; as if she planned on never letting go.

"You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met" Hiccup murmured against her lips. "And the most amazing."

The parted, both now slightly breathless for a different reason.

"And don't you forget it" Merida smiled at him, her eyes twinkling in humour.

"JACK!"

Their heads span as they heard Rapunzel's cry echo through the cave, and the two were immediately reminded of their vulnerable situation.

"I'll go help Rapunzel, you get to Toothless" Merida said, grabbing her bow off the floor.

He smiled in gratitude – she could obviously tell how desperate he was to reach his dragon. He never felt quite whole when the two of them were apart.

Their hands clasped together tightly for one last moment, and then they separated; Merida sprinting over the bridge towards Rapunzel's cry and Hiccup running to the edge of his own platform to find a way down.

* * *

Rapunzel refused to look at the dagger making its way towards her. She did not want to see her reflection in the shiny metal; she did not want her last view of this world to be of her own frightened eyes staring back at her.

Instead, she looked at Jack. She used every second of her last moments to study each minute detail of him and commit him to memory – however irrelevant it might be.

She wished he didn't look so sad – so scared. She wished she could see him laughing – just one last time. That one particular smile she liked to think was especially for her; half amused, half caring and a hint of something behind his eyes that he was too scared to show her.

At the moment the message in his eyes was all too clear though:

Move. Fight. Please don't let him hurt you. MOVE!

She could not move away completely. Not unless she was going to leave Jack vulnerable to attack instead. But she could try and hold out as long as she could for him. That's the least she could do.

She twisted her body to the side at the last second.

Pain.

A cold shooting streak in her side sent the air rushing out of her lungs in a silent gasp.

Her nerve ends were on fire; blazing hot, yet burning cold at the same time.

It wasn't fatal, she could tell, but oh god it hurt.

She coughed and fresh agony wracked through her body, sending her to her knees with a cry. Clutching her side, hot red blood ran through her fingertips.

She could not help it; she looked up at her attacker.

Dark Hiccup's face stared down at her. He could see that he had missed any vital organs; she had thrown off his aim when she had moved suddenly. But she was in too much pain to move anywhere now, so it wouldn't be difficult to finish her off.

He raised the knife one more time to deliver the finishing blow.

And his head went toppling to the ground.

Rapunzel's eyes flew wide in shock. As she had watched - expecting to die at the hands of one who wore her friend's face like a twisted mask - she saw a flaming bow lowered down over his head.

The string was glowing molten hot, and had been brought sharply back against his throat, slicing through it like a knife through butter.

As Dark Hiccup's body collapsed to the floor, black sand leaking from his headless neck, a far more welcome sight was revealed standing behind him.

Merida.

Rapunzel could immediately tell she was back to her normal self. The fury in the girl's eyes that was quickly fading to concern as she took in her friend's wounds was all the evidence Rapunzel needed.

Rapunzel suddenly realised she was no longer holding Dark Merida at bay and her eyes flashed in panic as she looked over to where the archer had been standing. She had vanished – perhaps the appearance of the original had scared her off?

Merida scrambled forwards and pressed her own hands against Rapunzel's wound to try and help stop the bleeding.

"Oh Rapunzel I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have gotten here sooner…"

"No, no it's ok" Rapunzel flinched in pain as her friends hands pressed down on the cut. "You're here and you're you – that's what's important."

The two girls smiled at each other, leaning forwards to briefly touch foreheads and laugh nervously as they released the tension from the previous moments.

"Merida, help Jack. I can already feel my side healing but I can't stand up yet."

The red head nodded and got to her feet.

Suddenly, several blasts of dragon fire hit the platform. The ground beneath them shook and one fireball took out a nearby column, sending it crashing towards the floor.

Jack - who had renewed his fight with vigour after seeing Rapunzel was safe - was flung to the floor. Dark Rapunzel was also sent reeling backwards into the shadows in order to avoid the crashing column, and her hair released its hold on his staff.

Merida had stumbled backwards and was now precariously close to the edge but managed to retain her footing. Just as the shaking stopped and she made to move forward again, another stray blast from the fighting dragons hit the underneath of the platform, sending up a spray of rock and dust.

Rapunzel watched in horror as a huge crack appeared and the segment of platform Merida was standing on began to crumble and fall!

With all the strength she had left, Rapunzel flung her hair at her friends vanishing body and managed to wrap it around her waist.

Merida's descent came to a jolting stop as the blonde hair went taut; she heard Rapunzel's cry of pain as the strain of her weight took its toll on the girl's injury.

Rapunzel's hands were slippery with blood but she pulled at her hair with all her might. The pain in her side was alternating between sharp stabbing and dull throbbing as the magic from her hair desperately tried to heal her.

"It's ok; it's going to be ok" Rapunzel muttered to herself, forcing her hands to move one in front of the other as she heaved Merida back up. "It's nearly healed, I'm going to pull Merida up, save Jack and Hiccup, find that _stupid _key and then this will All. Be. Over!"

"**I wouldn't bet on it princess" **a horrifyingly familiar voice giggled in her ear.

Before she had a chance to move, a rope of black hair was wrapped around her neck and tightened roughly. As it began to strangle her, Rapunzel realised that using her hands to pull the dark hair away would mean letting go of Merida – and that wasn't an option.

"**Life is tough isn't it flower?" **Dark Rapunzel mocked. The blonde haired girl flinched at the use of that particular term of endearment.

"**Oh I'm sorry, did that bring back bad memories for you? Well perhaps you should have done things differently; you ever think that if you had just had the **_**sense **_**to leave that stupid tower earlier then none of this would have ever happened?" **the voice continued in her ear bitterly.

"**You wouldn't have died. You would have met your family and taken your rightful place as princess. Think of what we could have **_**had! **_**All that power, those riches, all that **_**life! **_**But no. You wasted it all because you couldn't bear to take **_**One. Tiny. Step." **_She tugged cruelly at the hair around Rapunzel's throat with those three last words, spitting them into her ear in hatred. Rapunzel let out a rasping cry as she desperately tried to suck in air.

"**Oh, does it make you sad? Well it makes me sad too. Come on, cry for me little flower…all we need is one tiny tear. Then I'll let you go. I'll even let you save your friends. I **_**promise.**_**"**

Rapunzel wanted to weep; hearing her own voice offering her hope in such a twisted way. But she refused to let even a single tear escape. She knew that Pandora had said the sources were inside of them, though she did not know how. But whatever it was they wanted, she would never give it to them.

She tried to ignore the burning sensation in her lungs and pulled harder at her own hair to try and bring Merida back to the top faster.

She stared at the edge of the platform, willing Merida's firey curls to appear over the edge.

Pull. Tug. Pull.

Gasp. Wheeze Choke.

Rapunzel's vision was starting to go blurry. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes as her brain screamed at the lack of oxygen. Her hands shook. She no longer had the strength to pull, and it was only pure will power that had prevented her from letting go already.

Suddenly – air.

She gasped, sucking in as much air as she could as if it was the most delicious thing she had ever known.

Coughing and spluttering as her lungs got used to working again she felt a rush of relief as she saw Jack at her side. He had pulled Dark Rapunzel away from her, and was currently trapping her body against his with his staff.

But the moment of victory was short lived; seeing she was outnumbered, Dark Rapunzel shrank with an evil smirk and vanished into the shadows before Jack could catch her.

Jack leaped forward and took Merida's weight from Rapunzel, pulling her up and allowing the exhausted girl to rest.

* * *

Hiccup stared into the inky blackness below. It wasn't hard to spot the two grappling dragons – their fiery breath was lighting up the space around them and their thrashing bodies caused rocks to crumble and shatter as they clawed and bit at each other.

"_Toothless!" _he called with his mind to get his friends attention without notifying the other dragon.

_Relief. Alive!_

"_Yes buddy, I'm ok. And Merida's back to normal now too! Now how about we get back up in the air and show that dragon a real fight?" _

The overwhelming sense of YES Hiccup got back nearly made him laugh. Standing near the edge, Hiccup judged the distance to the ground. They were ridiculously high up – did this cave even have a floor? If it did he couldn't see it right now. But that was perfect – he was going to need some falling room.

He eyed up the lower platform Toothless was fighting on, before speaking to his friend: _"I'd give it about 2 seconds. Meet you in the air!" _He took two steps back, then ran and dived off the edge.

Just as Hiccup drew level with Toothless' platform, the dragon disengaged from his fight and leaped off his edge too, until both dragon and rider were falling parallel to each other.

In a perfectly smooth motion, Toothless span in midair and Hiccup fastened himself to the saddle during free-fall. With a final, satisfying click, Hiccup engaged the mechanism controlling Toothless' tail and, as one, they pulled out of their fall to fly up into the air.

The amount of relief both of them felt at being together again was palpable. Toothless let out a little purr of joy as the two of them weaved around the jutting rocks and circled round to attack the other dragon.

"_I'm glad to see you too bud" _Hiccup patted him on the back, and then reached over to disconnect the bag from Toothless' saddle and swing it over his own head. _"Better keep the Gem on me for now, it's too easy for those shadows to try and cut the bag off the saddle…"_

They blasted a plasma shot at the Evil Toothless who dodged and propelled himself into the air before firing a retaliating shot of his own. Toothless dived to avoid it, and Hiccup winced as he heard it go crashing into a platform behind them somewhere.

A flash of motion caught his eye. Swerving at the last second, Toothless and Hiccup just managed to avoid the black flaming arrow that shot past them, directly in the space where Hiccup had been moments earlier. Looking around frantically, Hiccup tried to pinpoint where the arrow came from – but no luck. Either Dark Merida was hiding behind a rock somewhere, or she was immersed in shadows too thick for even his dragon eyes to peer through.

Toothless' ears pricked. They could hear shouting coming from somewhere in the cave that sounded like the others. Thoughts focused on finding their friends, the two of them momentarily forgot their opponent – to their woe.

Hiccup felt an almighty force hit him from behind, as the Dark Dragon clasped his arms with its claws and wrenched him from the saddle. As if in slow motion, Hiccup watched in horror as Toothless fell to a platform below; struggling to turn around and fly after him but unable to without the use of his tail.

He could hear Toothless' roar of distress as he crashed to the ground and called after them, which at least comforted Hiccup that Toothless was alive and out of immediate danger. Which was more than could be said for him.

He reached up to where the dragon has his arms clasped in its clawed feet and tried to wrench them open; but it was no use. He winced in pain as the claws dug deeper, cutting into his skin, when suddenly they opened and he was dropped to the floor.

Landing harshly on his back, the air was temporarily forced out of his lungs and he gasped in pain. If he survived this, he was going to be black and blue with bruises.

He struggled to sit up as the Dark Toothless landed in front of him. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and Hiccup was again reminded of the first time he and Toothless met and the dragon had roared in his face after he had freed him. Here was an echo of the ferocious beast that Toothless could be, but with none of his inner kindness and noble spirit.

_Fear. Frustration. Determination._

Toothless was on his way. He could hear his friend scrabbling up the side of the platform; determined to reach him even without his wings. But he was going to be too late.

Hiccup barely had time to close his eyes before the Dark Dragon pounced forward and clamped its jaws around Hiccup's left leg. He howled in agony as searing pain tore through it.

* * *

After making sure Merida was safely back on the ledge, Jack left her for a moment to check on Rapunzel. He thanked Manny and all of the gods Hiccup believed in for her magic hair.

Even with the quick work it was doing to patch up her injuries, he felt sick to his stomach as his eyes wandered over her blood stained side and the dark bruise across her throat.

Crouching down he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled weakly at him. "I've felt better I guess…but I'm as well as could be expected." Her voice was still slightly raspy. She swallowed and stretched her side experimentally. "Everything's nearly healed I think. I should be fine to move now."

Jack nodded and took her hand to slowly help her to her feet. Merida came and hugged her gently, making sure to be careful of her recently healed injuries. "Thank you for saving me Punz." She whispered into her ear before leaning back and giving her a warm smile.

"Only returning the favour" Rapunzel smiled back.

A roar echoed around the cave, disrupting their brief moment of peace.

"We need to find Hiccup and Toothless" Jack said urgently, clutching his staff tight.

"I think they're back over this way" Merida said, pointing over a bridge.

Suddenly Hiccup's pained scream and a roar of anguish from Toothless assaulted their ears.

The group froze for a split second and then began to sprint towards the sound, each of their faces stricken with trepidation.

They reached a dead end, where the only way forward was to climb up a steep rock face to a higher platform. Above them they could see Toothless scrambling desperately, jumping from ledge to ledge and using his claws to gain purchase against the unforgiving stone.

Without a word, Rapunzel shrank and jumped into Merida's hand, whilst Jack grabbed Merida around the waist and flew the group up, just barely beating Toothless to the top.

As they landed, they only had a moment of to take in the horrific scene before them before Toothless caught up and his dark form barrelled past them to collide with his evil counterpart. The force knocked them away from Hiccup, and the other three used this time to go to their friend's aid.

As they drew closer Jack grew even paler than normal, Merida's hands flew to her mouth in shock and Rapunzel let out a soft cry of horror.

Hiccup lay against a rock, groaning in agony. He was staring at the ceiling, eyes unfocused and his hands were clenching and unclenching in the dusty rubble around him, as if desperately trying to cling to something.

His right leg had the heel of his foot dug into the floor, shaking as Hiccup writhed in pain. And the left leg – was a mangled, bloody stump from the knee down.

The reek of blood hit their noses, and Merida flung herself down by him; stroking his hair away from his face and gripping his hand in hers.

Rapunzel knelt by his legs and her shaking hands immediately starting to wrap her hair around the remainder of his leg.

Jack stared in shock, never having seen any of his friends hurt this badly before. There was no way for him to help. He felt so useless.

"Well well, you certainly have made a mess of the place haven't you?" A voice slithered out of the darkness. Pitch emerged smirking.

Jack turned to face him, bringing his staff forward, a determined look in his eyes. This he could do – he would fight for his friends and give them the time they needed to heal Hiccup.

"You two stay and help Hiccup" he called over his shoulder to the girls who were looking at Pitch nervously. "I'll deal with _him._"

"I've been waiting for this" Pitch sneered. "Let's play then shall we Jack?"

Jack leapt forward with a guttural cry, slashing his staff in front of him to beat a wave of ice at the Nightmare King and knock the fight further away from his friends.

* * *

**Author's Note – I wasn't originally going to have Rapunzel get so injured but I had a couple of reviewers say they were interested to see what would happen if she got hurt badly so I thought "well – she can probably take it!" and threw in a little angst. Sorry Punzie! And please don't hate me for taking Hiccup's leg! *hides behind rock***


	28. Chapter 28

Merida clasped Hiccup's face between her hands and gently turned him to face her.

"Hiccup. Hiccup!" she cried out to him, desperate to make his eyes focus on her.

He flinched, letting out another groan of pain as Rapunzel finished tying her hair around his leg. The light from her hair grew bright, and cast a comforting circle of warmth around them.

"Hiccup, look at me" Merida begged. His eyes focused on her face.

"Merida…" he breathed weakly, coming to his senses slightly. He reached up a shaking hand to wipe away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. "Don't cry…"

"Then don't make me you eejit!" she cried angrily, wiping her cheek with frustration and gripping his hand tightly in hers. "What did you go fighting a dragon by yerself fer?! Why didn't ye stay with Toothless!"

Hiccup let out a weak chuckle. "The other dragon didn't exactly give me a choice you know…where is it anyway?"

"Toothless is fighting it, and Jack's keeping Pitch at bay to give Rapunzel time to heal yer leg."

Merida watched as Hiccup's features fell into a worried frown, and his eyes stared into space for a moment before coming back into focus. "Toothless is trying to keep the other dragon away from us for the moment. He says he'll be fine but I worry; if he can't fly he's at a disadvantage. Punz…how much are you able to heal my leg exactly?"

"She can make it good as new can't ye?" Merida said enthusiastically, looking at Rapunzel. Noticing the other girl's solemn look, she paused and her face fell. "Can't ye Punz…?"

"I'm so sorry Hiccup." Rapunzel whispered sorrowfully. "I can heal the stump over, make the skin clean and new and smooth – but I can't bring back the lost limb. The healing only works on things that are there, not on things that are lost." She sighed.

"The same goes for dead things; when I was first learning about my powers I tried to bring a dead baby bird back to life but it wouldn't work. Whatever gives things 'life' – a soul perhaps? – it wasn't there. And the healing can't work on things that aren't there."

Hiccup nodded in sad acceptance – a part of him had already expected that, but it was a shattering realisation all the same. He had lost his leg…how was he going to operate Toothless' tail without it? How was he going to help the others fight and get out of here?!

A crash as Pitch's black scythe smashed into the floor, narrowly avoiding Jack, jolted Hiccup out of his mournful thoughts.

"We need to hurry and seal the box if we have any chance of getting out of here" he began explaining hurriedly. "Jack figured out that the sources are inside us - Rapunzel you have the tears of the sun, Merida one of your wisps contain Nightlight's soul. Toothless can breathe lightning's fire and Jack will have something to do with moonbeams. You need to complete the key and seal it – quickly!"

As Rapunzel's magic restored his strength to him, he reached over to his bag and took out the Gem. He passed it to Rapunzel, who held it reverently.

She could still feel a slight tug from within her, calling out to the Gem in her hands. "Tears of the sun…" she whispered to herself.

She looked up at Hiccup's face. Poor Hiccup, always so kind, so helpful – so cheerful despite his own tragic history. She watched as his face still flinched in pain as her healing magic knitted together the skin around his stump.

Her eyes flitted to Merida. She saw how the red head girl was gazing at Hiccup with such worry, such care. She could see how her heart was aching for him – how much she loved him.

She wished she knew if Jack felt for her like that. She could hear his angry roars of frustration as he attacked, and the slight cries of pain as Pitch managed to land a minor blow on his arm or leg.

But she knew he would never give up. Because that's who Jack was: his centre might be Fun, but his soul was one of determination – and right now he was determined to protect his friends to the bitter end.

She hated to think of him being hurt to protect them. She hated to think of any of them getting hurt. Her friends; who she already felt closer to over these few days than most others she had known for years. She closed her eyes, as if trying to block out the pain they suffered. And a small tear escaped and trickled down her cheek before landing on the Gem in her hands.

A bright yellow glow shone through her eyelids and caused her to open them, staring at her hands in wonder. A quarter of the Gem was now tinted yellow, its previous clear colour gone.

"It worked!" she heard Hiccup gasp.

Still slightly stunned, Rapunzel wordlessly handed the Gem over to Merida.

Grasping it firmly in one hand, Merida held out her other empty hand parallel to it and closed her eyes. She called out with her heart for one particular wisp. The wisp that had been there from her very first moments as a spirit: her longest friend and guide.

Opening her eyes slowly, a blue light shone before her. Sitting in her previously empty hand, the blue wisp emitted a comforting warmth, and its flickering body felt like a tiny bird fluttering in her hand.

"Nightlight?" She whispered.

It cooed back at her reassuringly.

She unfurled her fingers from around the Gem and offered it to the wisp. It floated from her hand and sunk into the Gem, slowly disappearing. In its final moments, the wisp's flickering form appeared to wave goodbye before the two merged completely and another quarter of the Gem shone blue.

"Thank you…" Merida whispered, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

A gentle touch on her arm made her look up. Hiccup was gazing at her, understanding, yet urgency clear in his eyes.

"You need to get the Gem to Jack."

"Don't worry Merida, Hiccup's leg is nearly healed now and I'll look after him." Rapunzeel reassured her.

Merida nodded at Rapunzel, then turned back and leaned down to kiss Hiccup firmly on the mouth.

"You better be ok eejit, or I'll kill yer!" she declared firmly, before standing up and rushing over to Jack.

Hiccup sat there with a slightly dazed grin on his face, and Rapunzel giggled.

* * *

Jack and Pitch circled each other, taking a moment to try and get the upper hand and catch back their breath.

Jack was panting, and his right leg ached where Pitch had managed to cut it. His back felt bruised where he had been thrown against the rocks a few times, but at least he could take some satisfaction that he was not the only one with injuries.

Pitch's left arm was suffering from severe frost burn and Jack was sure he could detect a slight limp.

Tiring of the circling, Pitch leapt forward again, he shadows stretching out to whip at Jack. Leaping into the air and back-flipping out of the way, Jack slashed his staff in a vertical swipe as her flipped over, creating a huge wall of ice from floor to ceiling between the two of them.

Landing heavily on his feet, he collapsed to one knee breathing heavily. That had taken a lot out of him, but would hopefully buy him a few minutes rest and a chance to plan what he could do next.

"Jack!"

He turned his head to see Merida sprint up behind him.

"What is it? Is Hiccup…?"

"He's fine." Merida said hurriedly. "Quick, I need something of yours that the moon gave you!"

"What?"

"The moon!" she waved the Gem in front of him. "We're trying ter complete the Key, but to do that we need all the sources. Hiccup said yer the one who figured it out – ye should know all this!" she said exasperatedly.

"Think quickly - when ye become a spirit, what did the moonlight do?! There must have been something that changed!"

"Well…." Jack wracked his brains, whilst keeping one eye on the ice wall that was already starting to crack as Pitch pounded on it from the other side.

"My skin, eyes and – my hair. Wait my hair! It changed to the colour of moonbeams- Ow!"

Merida wasted no time; she plucked some hairs from his head and sprinkled them onto the Gem. They sank into it and vanished; a third segment glowed bright white.

"Yes!" She crowed.

Suddenly there was the sound of shattering ice and they both jumped out of the way as Pitch's shadows came through like spears.

Jack renewed his fight with vigour, and Merida had just placed the Gem in her pocket in order to use her bow and arrows to help when a sharp pain whipped around her body.

Looking down, Merida realised that her arms had been cruelly whipped and trapped by her sides by a long length of dark hair. Following the direction of the hair with her eyes, she found Dark Rapunzel smiling wickedly at her from across the platform. She waved and giggled.

Merida smiled back. And set herself on fire.

Dark Rapunzel's hair quickly caught alight and travelled up the dark locks back to her body. The girl looked in horror and tried to unwrap her hair from Merida but it was too late: Merida willed the fire to burn faster, stronger, and directed it back at the evil being.

As much as the shadow copy tried to back away, the fire quickly consumed her, until all that was left was a pile of black ashes on the floor.

Merida ducked as stray burst of fire flew her way from the dragon's fight (more out of habit that out of fear of being burnt) and rushed over to Jack.

Coming up behind him she fired an arrow over his shoulder towards Pitch. It landed at Nightmare King's feet and sent him stumbling backwards as he tried to avoid the flames.

"The key's nearly finished!" she shouted over the sound of battle. "All we need now is-"

There was an almighty BOOM and before either of them could react, something huge and black flew into them and all three went flying back across the platform. Their bodies skidded to a stop, only barely avoiding crushing Hiccup and Rapunzel.

Jack groaned, pulling himself out from under the black weight and looking over to see what it was. "Toothless..?"

The dragon whined pitifully, and rolled over to stand up again, limping on its foot slightly. Merida and Jack both winced as they took in the dragon's injuries – deep claw marks were scratched into his side, scales were scraped off all over the place, and there was even a slight tear in his wing. Teeth marks were on his back paw where the Dark Dragon had clamped down on him, obviously the source of his limp.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out to him, also taking in the dragon's injuries and desperately wanting to comfort him. Toothless limped over and leaned down to sniff at Hiccup's missing leg. He whined sadly and nuzzled his side.

"It's ok bud, I'm alright" Hiccup hugging him around the neck reassuringly. "We just match now, that's all!"

Rapunzel, who had finished healing Hiccup, leapt up and began wrapping strands of hair around Toothless' injuries as quickly as she could manage. There was so many of them, that apart from a few specific places where she made sure her hair didn't miss by tying them around those particular places, she just ended up throwing her hair over him like a blanket so the magic could start working on his body as a whole.

Jack watched her in concern; she was trying to hide it but he could see the effect this constant healing was having upon her – she was exhausted.

"What a touching display." Pitch mocked them, gliding forward with Dark Toothless and Dark Merida at his side.

Merida subtly passed the Gem back to Hiccup and then stood next to Jack and Rapunzel as the three essentially tried to block Hiccup and Toothless from Pitch's view.

"Well I hope you enjoyed your little attempt at resisting us" Pitch continued. "You can obviously see it's pointless. So once you've done completing the key for me I'll just be taking it off your hands. Oh and killing you. I do hate to leave loose ends." He smiled charmingly.

A sudden swirl of smoke and blackness appeared next to him, and everyone, including Pitch, flinched.

Stepping out of the whirlwind of blackness, Pandora's form appeared; she looked irritated.

"Those Nightmares of your failed _again _Pitch." She spat at him, ignoring the others.

"The Guardian's figured out it was a diversion and are on their way. You need to finish up here and get my key NOW."

"_Ok bud, just a little bit of fire – nice and controlled now." _Hiccup spoke into Toothless' mind. He placed the Gem on the floor in front of Toothless' mouth and, oh so gently, the dragon breathed the smallest of purple and white flames onto it.

For a split second the final quarter of the gem glowed purple. Then the whole thing lit up, glowing whiter and whiter, until even those with their backs to it had to shield their eyes.

A wave of power burst outwards from the Gem, causing those caught in its path to sway slightly. The Four Seasons felt a rush of power tingle through their bodies and their energy spiked.

As the light faded, Hiccup blinked and looked at where he had placed the Gem. In its place there was now a large, glittering silver key. The head of the key was shaped like the hilt of a sword, with the symbols of a leaf, sun, flower and snowflake engraved upon it.

He picked it up reverently, and held it tightly. Now the real battle would begin.

Everyone in the cave was still recovering from the burst of light and shockwave, but the Four Seasons had more to adjust to than most.

Jack looked at his hands in amazement. He could feelthe frost and ice ready to burst from them. Instead of relying on his staff to shoot out ice, he sensed he would now be able to use his hands too. And the _power _he could feel behind it…it was almost intoxicating.

Merida's hand flew up to lay over her heart. The _heat…_though it caused her no discomfort, she could feel she was blazing like the sun within. Pure, raw power ran within her veins, spreading out from her heart to the end of every nerve, every fingertip, every curl of her hair. Her skin practically buzzed with withheld power.

Hiccup and Toothless breathed as one, sensing the air shift around them. Whereas before it was like a servant, obeying Hiccup's commands, now the wind felt like part of them. They breathed; it breathed. It sensed their slightest thought, their tiniest intent and reacted almost before they had thought of it. He could feel the terrifying force behind it; from the tiniest of gentle gusts to the horrifying impact of a colossal tornado.

Rapunzel wriggled her bare feet against the stone. Her connection with nature…it had never been this strong. At her merest thought, she could feel the roots and leaves of plants twitching to her every whim – even ones at a far greater distance than she would usually be able to reach them. She reached for a particular set of roots she could feel in the earth and called out to them – whereas before this would have required a vast amount of her energy reserves, now it was as easy as breathing!

She reached for them and in a split second they had burst from the floor, climbing up to engulf their enemies and bind them firmly.

Pitch, and the Dark reflections of Merida and Toothless struggled uselessly against them.

Pandora recovered from her surprise quickly however and gave Rapunzel a sickeningly sweet smile. "Oh how sweet – you plan to use nature to beat me? Did no one tell you sweetheart? Nature _is _chaos."

She clasped the roots with her hands and a shiver went down them. Rapunzel felt sick as she felt their natures being twisted, and they watched in horror as the roots unfurled and re-formed into vaguely humanoid shapes. Releasing their original captives, the humanoid roots turned and began to advance on the Seasons.

The four of them burst into action. Hiccup threw Rapunzel's hair back onto the floor and, with Merida's help, swung himself up and on to the now-healed Toothless. He may be unable to fly, but he could still ride!

Making sure he gripped on extra tight with his hands and the remainder of his leg, Hiccup and Toothless raced over the ground and came to a standstill in front of their friends. Being careful to balance, Hiccup cast his hands out in front of him. You could almost see the pulse burst out from his hands and, as it hit them, the walking roots shrivelled and died. They were helpless in the face of Hiccup's power.

Either side of him, Merida and Jack were raining fire and ice down on Pandora and Pitch to keep them at bay, whilst Rapunzel was whipping her hair at Dark Toothless like a lion tamer.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Hiccup suddenly spotted Dark Merida aiming her arrow straight at Jack's heart. Distracted as he was, Jack did not see her. Without thinking, Hiccup grasped his new powers and twisted the air into a compressed ball of wind. Shooting it towards her the air flew faster than a bullet, and blasted a hole right through her chest on impact. He barely had time to register the shocked look on her face when she stumbled back and went tumbling over the edge, black sand spilling from her fatal wound.

He pushed down his sense of nausea and turned back to focus on the fight raging in front of him.

Pandora was backing away, but the gleam in her eye meant Hiccup did not think it was time to feel victorious yet.

Sure enough, as she moved she trailed her hands over the rubble and rocks that lay around her. They began to move and slowly came together; shifting and forming until they too took humanoid forms.

Merida shot arrows at them, but they merely bounced off. Cursing in frustration she focused on the power in her hands. "I wonder…" she thought.

Holding her hands out, even her own eyes widened in shock at the vast wall of fire that erupted from them. The flames smothered the walking golems, but Merida's cry of victory was premature.

The Season's faces fell as the stone creatures emerged unscathed from the flames, continuing their slow yet unstoppable march towards them. An even further blow was the fact that these creatures were now glowing molten hot.

"Jack! I have an idea! Cool them down! Quickly!" Rapunzel yelled.

Jack couldn't see how that would help stop them, apart from making them not burning to the touch, but he trusted that Rapunzel knew what she was doing.

He turned and pointed both his staff and his left palm towards the glowing sentient stones, sending a wave of ice and snow over them and cooling them rapidly.

As the group watched in amazement the sudden change in temperature caused the rocks to crack and then shatter; sending them into a pile of useless rubble once more.

"Punz, you are amazing!" he said, lifting her up and twirling her around before kissing her forehead in jubilation.

"No time to rest yet Jack, we've got more in-coming!" Merida called out, pointing at some newly resurrected stone creatures heading their way.

As Jack and Merida battled the golems, Toothless and Hiccup guarded their backs against the Dark Dragon and Pitch who were trying to take them unawares.

"There's no point sneaking around Pitch" Hiccup called out to the shadows. "Once you become solid the wind tells me exactly where you are – you can't sneak up on me any more."

"You must feel so pleased with yourself" Pitch snarled, revealing himself and Dark Toothless. "But I suppose that's all you're good for isn't it? Acting as look out? After all, now you can't fly you're even MORE useless than before." He tutted.

"Can't fight, can't fly. Tell me Hiccup, what ARE you good at exactly?"

"You know, you made a pretty big mistake Pitch." Hiccup said nonchalantly; ignoring the taunts. "And I'm not talking about thinking I can't fight, or attacking us in the first place, or even underestimating us."

"Oh?" Pitch sneered. "And what's that?"

"You made our shadow clones too life-like" Hiccup said matter-of-factly, his fingers twitching by his side as the air ran through them.

"Because you were determined for them to have a part of our souls, you couldn't just make them out of nightmare sand correct? No, they would need to have corporeal bodies in order to contain the souls within them. So unlike you and your shadow Nightmares, their bodies are more 'real' – they can't shift and re-form which means once broken, they cannot be mended."

"So?" Pitch laughed. "I am their master, not their nanny – their purpose is to carry out my orders - that's it. If they get themselves killed that's their own lookout and they know that."

"That's not what I meant" Hiccup shook his head. "I mean that those 'real' bodies, have permanent things that you can re-form in yours with a thought. Things like lungs. And you know what is residing in the lungs of that creature next to you right now? Air."

Hiccup brought his two hands forward in front of him as if catching something and then mimed ripping it open. Pitch watched in horror as, with a howl of pain, Dark Toothless exploded from the inside out and his body lay scattered as black sand.

"Toothless isn't my only weapon." Hiccup finished explaining solemnly. "I have power over the air – even more so since the Key was restored. And that's what I meant about under-estimating us."

Pitch stared at the boy in shock.

"Well…that was a little disturbing." Rapunzel's voice piped up next to him, eyeing the remains of the dragon warily.

"Tell me about it." Hiccup murmured down to her. "Even though that wasn't actually Toothless, I never want to see that again."

Toothless growled in agreement.

Their brief moment of respite was over, because Pitch had recovered from his moment of shock and began bearing down on the two of them with furious anger at being treated like a fool.

Fending off his whips of shadow with golden whips and blasts of air of their own, Rapunzel and Hiccup backed up against Jack and Merida who were still fighting off Pandora's creations that she continued to send at them from a distance.

"We have to get to the box!" Jack shouted over his shoulder to them. "I saw it earlier, on a lower platform back that way" he gestured over to their right.

"But how are we gonna get past these two?" Hiccup yelled back, wincing as he narrowly dodged a shadow spear and nearly lost his balance.

"It's useless Jack!" Pitch called over to him. "You should have joined me from the start! Now the only option left to you and your little friends is to die like you should have done all those year ago- ARGH!"

Pitch was abruptly hit in the side of the head by something that burst into a colourful puff of smoke, sending him stumbling to the floor.

"Did you miss me mate?"

Rapunzel gave a squeal of delight and Jack grinned, whilst Merida and Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief.

Running over the bridge and coming to a standstill next to them was Bunny; the other Guardians following closely behind.

They took their places amongst the Seasons, presenting a united front against Pandora and Pitch who also came to stand side by side.

Standing between Jack and Rapunzel, Bunny threw another one of his egg bombs up and down casually, smirking down at them.

"What took you so long?" Jack joked.

"You did not think we would miss all fun eh Jack?" North said unsheathing his swords.

"We quickly figured something was up when the Nightmares showed more interest in distracting us rather than actually fighting us. When we couldn't find you at the Pole it didn't take much more to realise you would be here." Tooth explained.

"Now get a move on and seal that thing would ya?" Bunny shouted bounding forward. "We'll keep 'em busy - Suck on this, y'gumbie!" he yelled at Pandora before flinging another of his eggs.

The Season's nodded their thanks, and the Guardians all ran forward with a roar of determination.

Making the most of the miraculous distraction their friends provided them, the group huddled together.

"We should seal the box together. I think that's the only way it will work" Rapunzel said.

"How do you know?" Merida asked curiously.

"I just feel it. The prophecy makes such a big deal about the four of us having to work together to defeat them…I don't know, but it just feels right."

"I agree" Jack nodded.

"But…my leg…The platform is near the bottom of that big hole and Toothless can't fly…" Hiccup began hesitantly.

"It's ok Hiccup, I've got you." Jack said, and he reached up his arms to help Hiccup off Toothless, gripping him around the waist to support his weight.

"What about Toothless?" Rapunzel asked, stroking the dragon's head.

"You're gonna have to stay here bud, ok? You can't fly down to the platform without me and I don't think Jack can exactly carry you" Hiccup joked weakly. In truth it tore him up leaving Toothless when they were both in such a vulnerable state, but he saw no other way around it.

Toothless let out a small whine.

"Hey – you did good. More than good, you were amazing." Hiccup leant over to rest his forehead on Toothless' for a moment. "_Don't go doing anything crazy ok?_ _Stay behind the Guardian and let them protect you for a bit – so I don't have to worry."_ Toothless whined slightly again and bumped Hiccup's head with his own in re-assurance.

Hiccup straightened up again, his face set in determination. "Ok, let's go."

Standing side by side, Jack gripped Hiccup's waist with one hand, and held his arm securely round his shoulder with the other. The two of them then leaped through the air towards the bridge Jack had previously seen the box from.

The girls followed on the ground, and when they saw the glowing purple light, Jack flew himself and Hiccup down to the platform whilst the two girls teleported themselves below.

Re-assembling in front of the gigantic boulder, the group shuddered.

"It feels like oil" Rapunzel muttered.

It might have sounded like a strange analysis, but the others knew what she meant. The evil seeped out of the cracks like a physical slimy presence. It smothered them, and it felt like it clung to their every pore; eager for a way in.

They approached the lock hesitantly, Hiccup holding the key in his right hand as his left was still gripping on to Jack's shoulder.

He looked around the group – Rapunzel and Jack to his left, Merida on his right.

"Together then?"

They all nodded and reached to place their hand on they key.

Suddenly, Hiccup winced and clutched the key to his head with a cry. Almost simultaneously the ground beneath them started to shake, nearly sending the group toppling over; Merida grabbed on to Hiccup's other side to prevent him from falling.

Their stomachs jolted as the platform began to rise up, higher and higher until it came level with some of the others that had previously towered above them.

"STOP. RIGHT. THERE." A voice screeched at them.

Pandora stood on an opposite platform, and beside her was Toothless; wrapped in tendrils of shadow and writing in pain.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried in despair.

"Do I have to do everything myself around here?" Pandora huffed, casting a scornful glare over at Pitch who was currently being cornered by Sandy and Tooth.

Bunny and North were hesitantly circling Pandora from a distance, too worried to attack in case she hurt Toothless.

"I gave you so many chances to do this peacefully" she said in a tired voice. "But would you listen? Well I suggest you listen now. Hand over the key or your precious _dragon _dies."

Hiccup's heart twanged in agony, but then he felt a comforting hand on his arm. He looked at Merida and the two of them exchanged a look.

"Well?" Pandora snapped impatiently.

"Pandora, did you know that dragon's are fireproof?" Merida addressed her casually.

"What?"

"A good friend of mine told me so. But apparently clothing and fire is a bit more hazardous to your health." And with that she thrust out an open palm and sent a huge bolt of flame towards Pandora and Toothless. The flame exploded into a huge fireball on impact, shaking what felt like the entire cave.

"NOW!" Merida screamed. She smacked her hand down on to the key as all four of them plunged it into the lock, turned it and focused on one thought: SEAL.

A moment of silence seemed to fall upon the entire cave, smothering the slightest sound. Then, with an almighty boom, all four of them were blasted back several feet; skidding to a stop just before the edge of the platform.

But almost as soon as the shockwave finished its outward trajectory, it seemed to turn on itself and began rushing inwards again, with the boulder being the destination point.

The cracks were glowing brighter, and the wind seemed to scream and screech as it was sucked inwards.

As the world around them imploded, the four of them crouched and lay as close to the floor as possible; trying to shelter as best as they could as the shadows were sucked past them at an incredible rate.

They could all feel the wind tugging at them, and even Hiccup was unable to prevent its forceful pull.

"NOOOOOOO!" They heard the screams of Pitch and Pandora echoing around the room. Nightmares were being wrenched out of the shadows, as if pulled from there by an invisible force.

Small creatures; gremlins and goblins, and things the four could not describe, began to whizz past them from every corner of the cave, mouths open in silent screams as they disappeared into the cracks.

Struggling to raise his head against the rushing wind, Jack looked over to Rapunzel. She was gripping the edge of the platform tightly, but he could see she was having more problems than most as her hair was creating a massive amount of drag and the wind was hungrily tugging at it, pulling her back towards the boulder.

"NO." he thought to himself determinedly. "They will NOT have her, not after everything she's been through."

Nails digging into the cracks of the stone floor, Jack slowly crawled towards her. Reaching out, he clasped his hand over hers and held it there tight, nodding reassuringly at her as she looked at him in gratitude.

Pitch, who had been clinging to a stone column, eventually lost his grip. Cursing and shouting in anger, the group watched with wide eyes as he flew over their heads and vanished into the ever narrowing cracks.

Jack closed his eyes and lowered his head to the ground to try and shelter his face from the stinging wind. "Now long now" he thought. "Just Pandora and then it will all be over."

Suddenly, he felt Rapunzel's hand almost wrenched out of his and he clung on to it for dear life, only just managing to maintain his grip.

He heard her cry in pain and he looked up – Pandora was now being sucked towards the boulder but she had grabbed onto Rapunzel's hair and was using it as an anchor!

As he watched in horror, Pandora slowly began to pull herself back towards them with a crazed grin on her face.

"If I'm going in there I'm taking one of you with me. And who better than your little sweetheart?" She spat at him, though he could barely hear her over the roar of the wind.

Jack looked at Rapunzel's terrified face before making a split decision. He summoned a sharp shard of ice in his hand, and threw it with incredible accuracy, aiming at Pandora's heart.

But almost as if she expected it, Pandora reached out, caught it, and promptly flung it back at him.

.

.

.

Rapunzel did not feel Pandora lose her grip on her hair. She did not hear Pandora's scream of outrage as the wind finally took her, and sucked her into the box before it sealed itself with an almighty thunderclap. She did not even see the cracks close, and the wind vanish as silence fell once more in the cave.

Because all she could feel, hear, _see _was Jack.

The way his hand had flinched in hers. The way he whispered her name with the tiniest of gasps. The slight smile on his face as he gazed at her, with a small trickle of blood dripping out of the corner. The dagger of ice sticking out of his heart.

She let out a choked gasp, as if her own breath had been sealed in the box with everything else. Because before she had a chance to move, to reach him, to _heal _him, she felt his hand – the one that still grasped hers so firmly – vanish beneath hers.

Before the eyes of the shell shocked group, Jack's body began to fade – and with a smile and a look of sad acceptance, he died and disappeared completely.

* * *

**Author's Note - THERE IS ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO DON'T PANIC! *wails* I'm so sorry Jack!**

**But wow, this Chapter took my quite a while, sorry for the wait but I hope it was worth it. As you know, I hate writing fight scenes but I tried to keep the fighting as varied and as imaginative as I could so it wasn't all just ice bolts and bows and arrows. I would really like to know what you thought of this Chapter since I found it so hard to pull off, and I also wanted to get the ending right to do Jack justice *sobs*. I figured there wouldn't be a body because they are spirits - they don't HAVE bodies. But as I said don't panic - there is one more chapter to go, I couldn't be mean and leave you on such a cliff hanger x**


	29. Chapter 29

Merida gasped in stunned shock. Jack was…gone?

She noticed Hiccup scrambling on the floor, trying to drag himself over to Rapunzel. Still in a daze, Merida went over to help him up. He hopped the rest of the way and they collapsed on the floor next to the traumatised girl.

"No…Jack…!" They heard Tooth's whispered cry come from behind them as the other Guardian's gathered around. Toothless, who had managed to jump across to the platform now it was at the same level as the others, came up behind them and let out a mournful whine.

Rapunzel had gotten up from her lying position on the floor and was now kneeling, staring at her hand – the hand that until only a few moments ago had held the hand of the boy she loved.

"Punz…" Hiccup softly spoke to her, his voice heavy with sorrow and empathy.

It seemed to break her numbed silence, because something cracked in Rapunzel's empty gaze and a wracked sob escaped her throat.

Hiccup and Merida knelt either side of their friend and surrounded her in a loving hug; Merida stroking the girls hair with one hand and holding Hiccup firmly to them with the other to help him balance. Tears streaked down their cheeks.

Rapunzel could feel something inside her breaking. It was shattering and cold ice was tearing at her insides. Maybe the ice shard had got her too? She looked down at her own chest numbly but there was no wound. Then why did it feel like she was bleeding?

Why wasn't Jack here? Where had he gone? If he was here, she could heal him and everything would be fine. Why wasn't he HERE?!

She crashed her fist down on the stone floor in frustration, letting out a broken cry of anguish. She could feel her friend's arms around her, a soothing hand stroking her hair.

She squeezed her eyes shut. And began to sing. She had not sung this song for over 300 years. Not since she had become a spirit – she had never needed to. But for some reason now, at her most desperate time, the song echoed in her brain and she felt as though some comfort may be gained from it.

"**Flower, gleam and glow  
Let your power shine  
Make the clock reverse  
Bring back what once was mine"**

Sure enough, a wave of warmth seemed to spread through her. It was different to the kind she usually felt when healing someone though. This – this was stronger somehow. And it felt- strange. What _was_ this? Was it from the power boost the key gave them? Her whole body was alive, skin tingling with power.

She felt the hand stroking her head start to reverse its direction, stroking from the back of her head to the front. Then the arms that were wrapped so firmly around her released her and she could feel her friends bodies move away. She opened her eyes but never stopped singing her song.

**"Heal what has been hurt  
Change the fates' design"**

Her eyes grew wide in amazement. Everything was going – backwards? Merida and Hiccup hopped almost comically backwards across the floor, before separating and going back to lying down. The Guardians parted, expressions changing from heart wrenching sadness, to shock, to tense expectation.

Her own body moved out of her own control, until she was lying back down on the rough stone floor, her hand stretching out in front of her. The box burst open again, the wind resumed howling around them, and she could feel the tug on her hair as Pandora clung to it once more.

**"Save what has been lost  
Bring back what once was mine"**

Before her astonished eyes Jack's body materialised out of thin air; his hand returning to hers. She flinched as the shard flew out of his body, behind her head to Pandora, and then back to Jack's hand before it disappeared in a blaze of ice.

**"What once was mine…."**

Everything stopped reversing at its frenzied pace. Jack was clinging onto her hand as if he would never let go, and the wind whipped their faces cruelly. But she did not hide her face from it, nor close her eyes against its sting. She couldn't believe it. She never thought she would see him again – but he was HERE. Her eyes drank in every detail of him and she gripped his hand so hard to make sure he was real that he flinched and raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's ok Punz! Don't be afraid, I've got you!" he smiled reassuringly.

A ferocious tug on her hair caused her to yelp in pain. She saw Jack's features quickly flash from one of concern to determination, and she saw the shard of ice form in his hand as he looked at Pandora and took aim.

Rapunzel panicked. She couldn't go through this – not again! She couldn't lose him!

"WAIT!" she screamed at him. He jolted in surprise and looked at her in confusion.

"Don't throw it Jack! Don't."

"But Pandora…"

"Cut off my hair!"

"What?!"

"Just do it!"

She saw something register in his eyes and he gave her a slight nod before he leant over and with a great heave, he sawed through her hair with the sharpened ice.

A howl of outrage could be heard from behind them as Pandora and the rest of Rapunzel's hair flew into the box and it sealed itself once more with an echoing thunderclap.

Silence fell.

Jack lay there for a few moments in stunned silence. They'd done it – they'd actually done it! He turned to smile at Rapunzel in relief. She had an odd look on her face, and her blonde hair now fell in ragged wisps around her cheeks.

He leant over and gently wiped a stray strand away from her face.

"Your hair…Punz I'm sorry-"

But he didn't have a chance to complete his sentence. Before he realised what was happening Rapunzel had flung herself onto him and pulled their lips together in a passionate kiss.

He froze momentarily before grinning against her lips and pulling her closer, his hands threading through her short blonde hair to deepen the kiss. The force of her attack sent him toppling backwards onto the ground again, and she fell down on top of him, but he didn't mind – he would be happy to lie here on this hard stone floor forever if it meant she would continue kissing him.

Alas, someone had a different idea however.

"Ahem" came an amused cough from above them.

The two pulled apart and looked up to find Hiccup and Merida, his arm slung around her shoulder, standing over them with amused grins on their faces. Toothless was peeking at them from Hiccup's other side, a mischievous smile somehow also apparent despite his dragon features.

"We hate to interrupt…." Hiccup said, his eyes twinkling with amusement that promised Jack he hadn't heard the end of this.

"But we thought it was about time we got outta here." Merida finished; a teasing smirk on her lips.

"Unless of course yer have somethin' better ter do?"

Jack and Rapunzel looked at each other, blushing slightly, but smiled in relief and happiness. Yes. They were ready to go.

* * *

"Oi! Watch it you two!" Merida shook snow out of her hair as Toothless and Hiccup came in to land beside her, sending up a spray of the stuff.

"Ooops…sorry" Hiccup grinned sheepishly as he dismounted, but she could see he was too elated from his practise flight to really be worried. She rolled her eyes and forgave them.

"Never mind" she scratched Toothless' head. "How was it then?"

"Amazing!" Hiccup enthused. "North and the yetis followed my specifications exactly, and even came up with a few ideas to add to it – this new leg adjusts perfectly between walking and flying; did you see there is even a little compartment here where I can switch out different fixtures at ease and it fits flawlessly into Toothless' tail mechanism in order to operate it…"

"Ok ok!" Merida interrupted him laughing. "It works great, I get it!"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess I get a bit carried away huh?"

"I'm just glad ter see the both of ye back on yer feet….and wings" Merida smiled back fondly. Toothless purred in agreement.

"Well, all we have to do now is say goodbye to the others and-GAH!" Hiccup slipped on a patch of ice and went barrelling into Merida who, luckily for him, managed to brace herself and catch him before he fell over.

"Argh - JACK!" Hiccup called out in a complaining voice.

"Someone call me?" a distant, mirthful voice could be heard from back towards the entrance to North's workshop.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, and Merida helped steady him on his feet again.

"As much as I'd like ter blame all snow related incidents on that Snowball, I think tha' might'a been you that time Hiccup" Merida chuckled lightly. Then, since their arms were still wrapped around each other, she leaned forward and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"What am I gonna do with yer, eh?" she admonished teasingly.

"Well you could always do that again" he smirked, referring to the kiss.

"All ready Hiccup?"

They turned to see Jack and Rapunzel exiting out of North's workshop and coming towards them.

"Yep!" he replied chirpily as they drew closer. "Was just figuring out the last few kinks but now we're ready to go."

"You gonna be alright flying back with him hot head?" Jack teased Merida. "With the amount of loop-the-loops he's probably going to be doing, you'll end up bright green – green and red is a bit Christmassy for a summer spirit isn't it?"

"Har, har, yer so funny Frost" Merida laughed sarcastically. "I'm sure I can manage it. Punz, ye sure ye dunnae want a lift back with us? Knowing that eejit he'll probably drop yer, and ye dunnae have yer hair to tie onto him as a safety net now either."

Rapunzel giggled. "I'll be alright" she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear a little self consciously. In truth, her hair had already started to grow back extremely quickly - it fell to just above her shoulders now. She had explained to the others that it always did that; it was why she had given up cutting it in the first place.

"Well I suppose it's fer the best then" Merida sighed dramatically. "If Jack gets himself inter trouble on the way at least yer hair can heal him again" she teased.

"Hey, don't act like I'm some damsel in distress! I don't always need saving!" Jack protested.

"Just from life or death situations, Aye?"

Jack sighed and rolled his eyes. Rapunzel had since told them the truth of what had really happened in the cave - no one else remembered the alternate version where he had died, but no one doubted her for a second.

She assured them that cutting her hair hadn't affected her healing powers and that it would grow back in a short amount of time, but in truth it was the fact that she had the power to reverse time with a _song _that he found a little unnerving.

She had offered to try and save Hiccup's leg, but the Autumn spirit had firmly turned her down – it was too risky he said. If she went back that far, then the tide of the battle could still easily have turned so that Pandora got hold of the key, and he couldn't let that happen.

After getting over the shock of how close Jack had been to death, Merida was quick to turn it about and use it as a teasing argument for how reckless and in need of their help he was. He liked to think it was her way of showing she cared.

"Yeah, yeah Merida. Just remember it's YOUR boyfriend that has a habit of tripping over his own legs – and that's when he had TWO of them."

"Hey, how did I get dragged into this?!" Hiccup said indignantly.

"Ok you two, no more bickering. Just admit you love each other already and say your goodbyes." Rapunzel said firmly.

She and Hiccup burst out laughing as their two friends turned bright red.

"Pfft – who would care about a hot head like her?" Jack muttered, eyes fixed on the sky.

"Love that snow-brain?! As if!" Merida huffed.

"Snow-brain?!"

"Yeah, because yer brain is full of mush."

Before Jack could continue their bickering Rapunzel sighed and threw her arms around Merida.

"I'll miss you Mer" she said, squeezing her around the neck tightly.

Merida's heated expression immediately softened and she hugged the girl back.

"You too Punz – but I'll see you for the passing over of Spring to Summer right?"

"Right" Rapunzel nodded happily.

"That goes for you too Hic" Jack jumped over to his friend and roughly tousled his hair affectionately. And maybe I can race you and Toothless again when I come to improve your Season?"

"Improve?" Hiccup raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"Improve, make better, you know what I mean" Jack waved a hand dismissively, turning away to hide a cheeky smirk.

"Ignore him Hiccup - I look forward to seeing some more of those beautiful leaves" Rapunzel said hugging him warmly.

"And I'll come visit sometime soon to see those spring flowers of your ok? Maybe I can even try my hand at painting some of them!" Hiccup grinned at her.

He swung himself back onto Toothless and held out his hand to Merida. Grabbing onto it, she leaped up behind him, and adjusted her bow and arrows before holding him tightly around the waist.

"Try and work on yer aim whilst we're gone, eh Jack? I plan on challenging yer to an archery competition when we next meet!"

"Count on it!" Jack grinned back. He turned to look at Toothless' head. "See you soon Toothless; look after that rider of yours for me won't you?"

The dragon purred in agreement, as Rapunzel stroked his nose and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead. "You're such a sweetheart – be careful in the skies alright?"

He nudged her playfully and she giggled before stepping out of the way and moving to stand next to Jack. The two of them held hands and waved as they watched their friends take off into the sky and soon fade to a black smudge against the blue, before vanishing completely.

Rapunzel sighed inwardly. She supposed it was about time she and Jack set off back to their own respective Seasons too. Though she could get there easily enough herself, she had jumped at Jack's offer to take her – anything to prolong their time together. She would be happy to stay with Jack forever if there wasn't so much work that needed doing in Spring – she had been away from it for far too long. She winced as she thought of all the work she had to catch up on.

Suddenly she felt Jack's hand tugging at hers as he pulled her across the snow.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"I want to show you something" he replied mysteriously and continued to lead her around the side of North's workshop.

They rounded the corner and came to a beautiful area of sheltered, flat snow. Smooth as silk, and protected from all sides by the workshop and glaciers, it was like a snowy sanctuary from the arctic wind. But that wasn't what made Rapunzel gasp in delight.

In the middle of the snowy blanket stood a tree made entirely out of ice. It was huge, and perfect in every detail; right down to the last leaf. By the base of the trunk were ice flowers – identical to the one Rapunzel had painted on her satchel, though these were crystal clear rather than golden.

The whole place sparkled and shone with rainbows as the light shone through the tree and bounced off the leaves. Before she knew what she was doing she was running underneath the branches and twirling in joy. Just complete and utter joy. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life.

In the midst of her spinning she abruptly found herself face first against something hard; she bounced off it with a slight "oof!" and would have fallen into the snow if it were not for the firm hands that gripped her waist.

Looking up, she realised she had bumped into Jack and her palms were now splayed out against his chest. Her cheeks, already pink from the cold, went even pinker as one of his hands left her waist to gently cup her cheek.

"I've wanted to say something to you for a really long time now." He murmured in a low voice. The deep resonance from it sent shivers down Rapunzel's spine. There was a rougher quality to his voice at the moment that she had never heard before – something protective and raw.

"This is going to sound cheesy but I mean every word" he said sincerely. "For so many years my heart was frozen, but when I met you - it began to melt. Rapunzel, do you know what snow turns into when it melts?"

She blinked at him, frozen like a deer trapped in headlights. "Water?"

He smiled. "No, Spring"

And with that he leant down to kiss her, capturing her lips with his, both hands knitting tightly into her hair.

She gasped softly and clung to the front of his hoody – rustling up the material in her grip in order to pull him close.

Jack groaned as he felt Rapunzel return his kiss with a hungry one of her own, and soon her lips were red and swollen from his attention.

His hands moved from her head back down to her waist, where his thumbs swept up and down her sides. Leaving her lips for the moment, his mouth began to travel down to her neck, relishing in the taste of her soft skin.

Rapunzel felt her head drop back in bliss as a quiet moan escaped her, and she ran her hands through his tousled hair. His kisses were sending electric shocks all over her – his skin was cold, and yet every kiss felt so hot – her body was overloading with sensations.

She felt a desperate need for more – to be closer. She pulled his face back to hers and kissed him passionately, before jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Jack, unfortunately, was taken completely by surprise at her sudden enthusiasm, and barely had time to bring his hands up beneath her legs to support her before they both went toppling over into the snow.

Rolling over, Jack sat up quickly, looking over in concern to make sure she was ok.

But he need not have worried – she was laughing and giggling; her hair covered in snow.

He broke into a grin of his own and began to chuckle. "Do you always plan on knocking me over when we kiss?" he teased.

And so the two of them lay there, laughing - in their sanctuary of rainbows. And Jack was whole and happy.

* * *

**Author's Note –**

**Oh my goodness it's finished! *cries* I'm happy to have completed it, but so sad it's over all the same. To those who have read and commented on my story, I would like to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for making my first story a wonderful experience; I have loved every moment and have been properly bitten by the writing bug! I shall almost definitely be writing more drabbles about The Big Four, so feel free to send me in your prompts and ideas - I love a bit of inspiration!**

**I hope everyone is satisfied with the ending and that it doesn't feel too cheesy, but I'm a sucker for romance and happy endings – of course I couldn't leave Jack dead!**

**I always thought the lyrics in Rapunzel's song needed to be addressed, because the ones about 'make the clock reverse' had so much more potential to it rather than just healing.**

**Anyway, if you have any questions left un-answered about this story then please send them to me! Some stuff I haven't been able to answer before as it would give away things in up-coming chapters, but if you still have questions I am more than happy to answer them!**

**And a friendly reminder that your comments and reviews are honestly like a writers life force – nothing gives me more pleasure than to see other people have been reading the story I have spent time on and seeing what they thought of it. So if you have a moment to tell me what you thought I shall love you forever! I hope to see you in the future for more stories, but if not then I truly hope you enjoyed this one :)**

**NOTE – the line about Snow turning to spring is a line from the anime Fruits Basket – it just worked too well for their situation not to use it!**


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